Sudan has recalled its ambassador from neighboring Ethiopia after Addis Ababa rejected Khartoum’s offer to mediate in the ongoing conflict between federal troops and rebel forces.
The Foreign ministry in Khartoum on Sunday said it had “followed statements made by senior Ethiopian officials refusing Sudan’s help to end the bloody conflict in Tigray, citing a lack of neutrality and [Sudan’s] occupation of Ethiopian territories.”
It dismissed the statements as “allegations with no basis,” adding that “Sudan has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations.”
Relations between Ethiopia and Sudan have soured after the latter deployed troops to the disputed al-Fashaqa land which has been held by Ethiopian farmers since 1900.
Ethiopian officials have been accusing Sudan of taking advantage of the Tigray conflict region to enter Ethiopian territory.
It has called for Sudanese troops to return to the positions they occupied before the conflict in Tigray erupted last November.
The border tensions come at a time when Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are also trying to resolve a three-way dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
There are reports circulating on social media that Sudan’s soldiers have been captured along with TPLF fighters in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.
These have not been independently verified.
MG/abj/APA