Sudan Says Back in Full Control of Border With Ethiopia

In this June 22, 2019 file photo, a Sudanese soldier from the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, stands on his vehicle during a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
In this June 22, 2019 file photo, a Sudanese soldier from the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, stands on his vehicle during a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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Sudan Says Back in Full Control of Border With Ethiopia

In this June 22, 2019 file photo, a Sudanese soldier from the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, stands on his vehicle during a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
In this June 22, 2019 file photo, a Sudanese soldier from the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, stands on his vehicle during a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Sudan’s foreign minister said Thursday that the army has restored control over all lands along the border that had been taken over by Ethiopian farmers.

“The armed forces have now fully recovered all Sudanese territory,” minister Omar Qamareddine told a Khartoum press conference.

“The borders have already been demarcated, all that’s remaining in our talks ... is increasing the border signs,” Qamareddine said.

Tensions have flared between the two countries over the Al-Fashqa region of the border, where Ethiopian farmers have been cultivating fertile land which is claimed by Sudan.

The region has seen sporadic clashes over the years but new fighting erupted in November when the federal government sent troops into the neighboring Tigray region of Ethiopia against the regional authorities.

Some 50,000 Ethiopian refugees poured across the border to escape the fighting.

Earlier this month, Khartoum accused Ethiopian “forces and militias” of ambushing Sudanese troops along the border, leaving some four dead and more than 20 wounded.

Addis Ababa downplayed the reported ambush, saying it did not threaten the relationship between the two countries.

Sudan has since deployed troops to the border region, and held demarcation talks with its eastern neighbor, AFP reported.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Dina Mufti blamed “outside forces” for the tensions with Sudan.

She said in a Wednesday briefing that these forces hold “no care for both Ethiopian and Sudanese people, but want the region to be in chaos and want to benefit from that chaos.”

In the same context, Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday said the Sudanese army has not gone beyond the international border with Ethiopia or attacked it.

"What is happening at the eastern region adjacent to our border with Ethiopia is redeployment of the Sudanese armed forces within their territory," said Al-Burhan in a speech to the Sudanese people on the 65th anniversary of Sudan's Independence.

"The Sudanese Armed Forces have not and will not go beyond the international borders or attack neighboring Ethiopia," noted Al-Burhan.

He went on saying that "We have been and are still keen to address the issue of violations by Ethiopian farmers and those who back them on Sudanese lands through dialogue."

Al-Burhan further noted that joint mechanisms have been formed for this matter considering the historical and special relations between the Sudanese and Ethiopian peoples.

He stressed that dialogue and negotiation will remain the guiding approach until everyone gets his right.



WHO Chief Says He Was at Yemen Airport as Israeli Bombs Fell Nearby

FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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WHO Chief Says He Was at Yemen Airport as Israeli Bombs Fell Nearby

FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

A wave of Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's main airport Thursday just as the World Health Organization’s director-general said he was about to board a flight there. One of the UN plane’s crew was wounded, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by Yemen's Houthis at the international airport in the capital Sanaa, as well as power stations and ports, alleging they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials, The AP reported.

UN associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said the rest of the U.N. team left the airport and are “safe and sound” in Sanaa, and the injured crew member is being treated in a hospital, she said.

Last week, Israeli jets bombed Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Israel's latest wave of strikes in Yemen follows several days of Houthi launches setting off air-raid sirens in Israel. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.