Sudan Threatens to Use Military Option to Regain Control over Border with Ethiopia

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday (AFP)
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday (AFP)
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Sudan Threatens to Use Military Option to Regain Control over Border with Ethiopia

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday (AFP)
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday (AFP)

Sudan's leaders of the transitional authority, implicitly threatened to resort to the military option if the Ethiopian forces did not withdraw from the remaining lands in al-Fashqa, east of the country.

The warning came during a celebration at al-Fashqa marking the 67th anniversary of the armed forces, attended by Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

During his speech, Burhan asserted that the government is trying to recover its lands through negotiation and peaceful means.

"We will seek diplomatic options for this, but we have other options," Burhan said, referring to the military option.

He pointed out that about six locations in the al-Fashqa area are not under the army's control, and "we want our neighboring country, Ethiopia, to listen to the sound of reason."

He added: "We chose to celebrate the armed forces' anniversary in Al-Fashqa to confirm that this land is Sudanese, and our forces will remain in it."

Burhan indicated that the army tried to recover the area in 2017, but the leaders of the ousted regime were hesitant and afraid of the international community.

He stressed that state decisions are made in consultation and agreement between the institutions of the transitional authority, the Sovereign Council, and the government.

The Prime Minister said Sudan had reached out to all sides as part of a push to end the conflict.

Hamdok stressed that all international conventions and treaties affirm Sudan's sovereignty over this land.

"We want our relationship to be good with Ethiopia, but we will not give up an inch of Sudan's land," he added.

He pointed out that the transitional government worked on Sudan's return to the international community, and these relations open the door wide for the advancement of the armed forces in training and arming.

"We want to transform the border between Sudan and Ethiopia into an area based on development and stability, but we are the rightful owners of this land, and it is in international covenants."



Hamas Names Four Israeli Female Soldier Hostages to Be Freed in Second Swap

 Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Hamas Names Four Israeli Female Soldier Hostages to Be Freed in Second Swap

 Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)

Palestinian group Hamas announced the names on Friday of four Israeli women soldier hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag would be released on Saturday, the group said.

The exchange, expected to begin on Saturday afternoon, follows the release on the ceasefire's first day last Sunday of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators. Israel's response would be presented later, it said in a statement.

Israeli media reported that the list of hostages slated for release was not in line with the original agreement, but it was not immediately clear whether this would have any impact on the planned exchange.

In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for the four.

The Hamas prisoners media office said it expected to get the names of 200 Palestinians to be freed on Saturday in the coming hours. It said the list was expected to include 120 prisoners serving life sentences and 80 prisoners with other lengthy sentences.

Since the release of the first three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.

The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in Nov. 2023.

In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardment.

Israel launched the war following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.

The release of the first three hostages last week brought an emotional response from Israelis. But the phased release has drawn protests from some Israelis who fear the deal will break down after women, children, elderly and ill hostages are freed in the first phase, condemning male hostages of military age whose fate is not to be resolved until later.

Others, including some in the government, feel the deal hands a victory to Hamas, which has reasserted its presence in Gaza despite vows of Israeli leaders to destroy it. Hardliners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have demanded that Israel resume fighting at the end of the first phase.

Most of Hamas' top leadership and thousands of its fighters have been killed but the group's police have returned to the streets since the ceasefire.