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Sudanese Delegation in Cairo to Discuss Border Dispute with Ethiopia

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Thursday with a Sudanese delegation in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Thursday with a Sudanese delegation in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sudanese Delegation in Cairo to Discuss Border Dispute with Ethiopia

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Thursday with a Sudanese delegation in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Thursday with a Sudanese delegation in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received Thursday a Sudanese delegation in Cairo to discuss the recent border tensions between Khartoum and Addis Ababa, in addition to the latest regional developments, especially the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sisi held talks with members of the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) Lt-General Shamsedeen Kabashi and his accompanying delegation, including Sudanese Minister of Culture and Information Fisal Mohammed Salih, Chief of General Intelligence Gamal Abdel Meguid, and Secretary-General of the council Mohamed Youssef.

The talks tackled the latest developments concerning the mounting tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan over the disputed eastern border region of Al-Fashqa.

Sisi said that Egypt is looking forward to continuing cooperation and coordination with Sudan in various areas, given the long-standing ties and common interests between the two countries.

For his part, Kabashi stressed the distinguished and historical relations binding between Cairo and Khartoum, hailing Egypt's sustained support for Sudan during the current transitional period.

The delegation also discussed with Sisi the GERD issue and the necessity of coordinating efforts and stances to achieve the interests of both countries.

The visit comes after border tension between the two countries escalated during the conflict in the Tigray region.

Ethiopian forces and militias attacked Sudanese forces inside their territory, killing three individuals and a high-ranking officer.

The Sudanese army redeployed within its territory and regained control over more than 80 percent of the areas that had been witnessing an Ethiopian presence for many years.

The negotiations to demarcate the border between Sudan and Ethiopia last December failed to reach an agreement.

After arriving in Khartoum Thursday, Salih said the delegation briefed Sisi on the recent developments on the Sudanese-Ethiopian borders, pointing out that the visit is a part of an integrated program for visiting the neighboring and sisterly countries to brief them on the reality of the developments of the situations in the region.

He also said it comes as part of the political and diplomatic efforts being exerted by the government to inform the leaders and the governments on Sudan’s position concerning the situations on the Sudanese-Ethiopian borders.

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Arab World

Nearly 30% of Syrians Want to Go Home, up from Almost Zero, UN Refugee Chief Says

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's de factor leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receiving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (L) in Damascus on January 25, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's de factor leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receiving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (L) in Damascus on January 25, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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Nearly 30% of Syrians Want to Go Home, up from Almost Zero, UN Refugee Chief Says

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's de factor leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receiving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (L) in Damascus on January 25, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's de factor leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receiving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (L) in Damascus on January 25, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

Almost 30% of the millions of Syrian refugees living in Middle Eastern countries want to return home in the next year, following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, up from almost none last year, the head of the UN's refugee agency said.

The shift is based on an assessment done by the UN in January, weeks after Assad was ousted by opposition factions, bringing an abrupt end to a 13-year civil war that had created one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times.

"We have seen the needle move, finally, after years of decline," Filippo Grandi told a small group of reporters in Damascus, after holding meetings with the Syria's new ruling administration.

The number of Syrians wishing to return "had reached almost zero. It's now nearly 30% in the space of a few weeks. There is a message there, which I think is very important, must be listened to and must be acted upon," he said.

Around 200,000 Syrian refugees have already returned since Assad fell, he said, in addition to around 300,000 who fled back to Syria from Lebanon during the Hezbollah-Israel war in September and October, most of whom are thought to have stayed.

Returning the roughly 6 million Syrians who fled abroad and the millions who became internally displaced has been a main aim of Syria's new administration.

But the civil war has left large parts of many major cities in ruins, services decrepit and the vast majority of the population living in poverty. Syria remains under a harsh Western sanctions regime that effectively cuts off its formal economy from the rest of the world.

To aid Syrians returning, many of whom often sell all their belongings to pay for the trip, UN agencies are providing some cash aid for transportation and will help with food and to reconstruct at least parts of broken homes, Grandi said.

More aid is needed from donors, Grandi said, and sanctions should be reconsidered. He did not comment directly on an announcement on Friday by the new US administration of a broad suspension of foreign aid programs.

"If sanctions are lifted, this will improve the conditions in the places where people return," he said.

The US earlier this month provided a six-month sanctions exemption for some sectors, including energy, but Syria's new leaders say much more relief is needed.

Grandi said refugees were responding to a political process that the new administration's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has committed to, aimed at producing a governing authority by March 1 that better represents Syria's diversity.

"Refugees are listening to what he's saying, to what his people are saying, and that's why I think many people decided to go back," Grandi said. "But many more will come if these things continue to be positive."