Burhan: No Negotiations Before Ethiopia Recognizes Sudanese Sovereignty Over Al-Fashaqa

 Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (AP)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (AP)
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Burhan: No Negotiations Before Ethiopia Recognizes Sudanese Sovereignty Over Al-Fashaqa

 Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (AP)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (AP)

Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said that no negotiations with Ethiopia would take place before Addis Ababa officially recognizes Sudanese sovereignty over the Al-Fashaqa area and demarcates the border.

During a visit to units in the Omdurman military zone, Burhan called on Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from all Sudanese territory on Wednesday.

He was accompanied by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Osman al-Hussein, the inspector general, director of the Medical Services Department, Head of Karary University, Head of Military Intelligence, and other senior officials.

“Unless there is an acknowledgment by the Ethiopian side that these lands are Sudanese and signs have been placed, we will not negotiate with anyone,” Burhan stressed.

He also pledged that the armed forces would remain the real protector of the people and the revolution, affirming its full commitment to respect popular choices.

Burhan further expressed his aspirations to preserve Sudan’s unity, vowing to coordinate with civilian political forces and peace partners.

“The country’s transitional phase has gone through enormous challenges that necessitated making many concessions and sacrifices,” he said.

Burhan also urged the armed factions that didn’t sign the peace agreement to sit and negotiate to reach an agreement that would contribute to building a modern state.

Sudan’s transitional government had deployed troops on the border strip with Ethiopia, to secure agricultural areas in al-Fashaqa.

Ethiopia and Sudan share a common boundary of over 1600 km which was drawn through a series of treaties between Ethiopia and the colonial powers of Britain and Italy. To date, this boundary has not been clearly demarcated.



Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The Red Cross raised alarm on Thursday at the growing use of drone attacks by warring parties on hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure in Sudan, which it said was contributing to widespread human rights violations.

Some 70-80% of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge due to damage caused by the war to water infrastructure, the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva.

"A recent drone attack stopped all the electricity provision in an area close to Khartoum, which means critical infrastructure is being damaged," said Patrick Youssef, the Red Cross's Regional Director for Africa, in a new report.

"There is a clear increased use of these technologies, drones - to be in the hands of everyone - which increases the impact on the local population and the intensity of attacks," Youssef said.

After two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, some people are returning to Khartoum after they were forced to flee when war broke out on April 15, 2023 amidst a ongoing power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.

Some 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 2023.

"We have seen violations of the law left, right and center,” Youssef said, urging the warring parties to allow the Red Cross access so it can offer humanitarian support and document atrocities.

In March, aid groups told Reuters that the RSF had placed new constraints on aid deliveries to territories where it was seeking to cement its control. Aid groups have also accused the army of denying or hindering access to RSF-controlled areas.

Both sides in the conflict deny impeding aid.