Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday denied allegations that the Ethiopian military had entered the disputed Al Fashaqa region inside Sudan’s border and warned anyone trying to incite conflict between the two countries, reported The TRT World.
Ahmed said opportunists are trying to cause an uproar among the people of Sudan and Ethiopia by spreading false accusations to gain political advantage.
“These parties with their ill motives are claiming that Ethiopia is mobilizing its troops along the borders of Sudan,” Abiy said adding that “Ethiopia strongly condemns this false allegation intended to cause conflict between the brotherly peoples of Sudan and Ethiopia.”
The Ethiopian prime minister said that constructive dialogue between the two African countries will help resolve their boundary dispute. He said the Ethiopian government believes in resolving the border issues through dialogue and discussions.
He also assured that Ethiopia has no intention to exploit the ongoing crisis in Sudan, as there is a strong sense of brotherhood and good neighborliness between the two countries. More than 300 people have been killed since the fighting erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese army led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF], led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Al Fashaqa, which lies close to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, is a fertile strip of land that has long been a source of friction between Addis Ababa and Khartoum. The region has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but is claimed by Sudan. The dispute has led to sporadic clashes between the two sides. The rift also feeds into wider tensions over land and water between the two countries, particularly stoked by Ethiopia’s mega-dam on the Blue Nile.
Sudan and Egypt, both downstream countries, are demanding a legally binding agreement on the filling of the GERD’s reservoir and the dam’s operations.
