The Sudanese government on Sunday announced that it has decided to open the Galabat crossing on the border with Ethiopia in an effort to build confidence and solve disputes between the two countries, reported The Dajiworld.
“As part of the endeavors by the leadership in the two countries to address the border issues, the security and defense council decided to open the Galabat border crossing as of today,” the Sudanese Security and Defense Council said in a statement.
As per the statement, the council has also decided to boost border monitoring and improve coordination between the two countries to stop the movement of armed rebels and militants across the border.
On June 26, Sudan had closed the Galabat crossing, after accusing the Ethiopian army of killing seven Sudanese soldiers and a citizen on the joint eastern border. Ethiopia has denied the charges and blamed the killings on a local militia group. Since September 2020, the Sudan-Ethiopia border has been witnessing rising tensions and deadly skirmishes between the two sides.
The Sudanese government has accused the Ethiopian military of backing farmers’ seizure of Sudanese lands in the disputed al-Fashaga district on the border of the two neighbours.
The two countries have been engulfed in a dispute over the fertile al-Fashaqa area. The area lies within Sudan’s international boundaries but Ethiopian farmers have been living in the area for decades. The dispute has resulted in sporadic clashes between the two factions.
The dispute between Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt has also widened due to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile. The Ethiopian government is set to begin the third filling of the dam in August, a move that is feared to spark new tensions with Sudan and Egypt.
Earlier this month, Sudanese coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The two leaders vowed to work together for peaceful resolution of outstanding issues.
