Addis Ababa has downplayed Khartoum’s ownership claim of Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State where the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is taking place.
In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ambassador Dina Mufti condemned Sudan’s ownership claim over Benishangul-Gumuz Region as “shameful.”
Dina said Sudan has been issuing statements on the GERD and the border issue leaving the international community confused.
The belligerent attitude of Sudan has threatened to reverse all the encouraging achievements achieved following the signing of the 1972 exchange of notes between the two countries, he added.
According to the 1972 notes, the two countries agreed not to employ force to solve border disputes, displace settled people that disrupts the status quo, the ministry said in a statement.
He said the recent sighting of Sudanese troops on Ethiopian lands signals Khartoum’s wish to capitalise on the instability in its neighbours as government forces continue to battle insurgents in Tigray.
“Sudan did the same when the imperial government was toppled in the 1970s and the Derg, (the Communist government) was ousted by rebel forces in the 1990s. Both of these attempts were successfully repulsed by Ethiopian forces,” the ministry said in a statement.
MG/as/APA