ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia said on Tuesday it would not engage in border talks with Sudan until Sudanese troops withdrew from contested land, potentially complicating efforts to defuse a dispute that has fuelled deadly clashes in recent weeks. The two Horn of Africa nations have long been at odds over the Al-Fashaqa region, where Ethiopian farmers cultivate fertile land claimed by Sudan. Since early December Sudan has accused Ethiopian “forces and militias” of ambushing Sudanese troops along the border, while Ethiopia has accused Sudan of killing “many civilians” in attacks involving “heavy machine guns”.
The two sides held border talks last month, and Sudan declared in late December that its army had restored control over all border territory that had been taken over by Ethiopian farmers.
Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told a press conference on Tuesday his country was committed to a “peaceful” resolution of the standoff but wanted Sudan to pull back.
“For us to negotiate, our precondition is Sudan returns to the previous land it controlled. They should return to the status quo, and then we can return to negotiation,” he said.
In 1902, a deal to draw up the border was struck between Britain, the colonial power in Sudan at the time, and Ethiopia, but it lacked clear demarcation lines. — AFP
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