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.



Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Hamas group Tuesday to stop giving Israel "excuses" to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed major strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 58 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency called on Hamas to "cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of (the Israeli) aggression".

The statement pointed to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. "Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide," it said.

It called on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to "adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives".

French President Emmanuel Macron met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt in Cairo Monday, where they called for Abbas's Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after a ceasefire, and for Hamas to have no role in post-war governance.

The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Abbas's Fatah movement, Hamas's longtime rival.

At their Cairo meeting, the three leaders called for an "immediate return" to the two-month ceasefire that effectively ended in March.

In its statement, the Palestinian presidency also denounced a newly established Israeli corridor in south Gaza as a violation of international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the creation of the Morag axis between the south Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah last week.

He presented the axis as a new Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt that the Israeli army has already cleared of buildings.

Witnesses told AFP Tuesday that Israeli forces were present on the axis, and had set up a surveillance crane equipped with a machine gun at one of its crossroads.