Sudan Seeks Western Support in Tigray Mediation

Sudan's PM Hamdok and Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (file photo: Reuters)
Sudan's PM Hamdok and Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (file photo: Reuters)
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Sudan Seeks Western Support in Tigray Mediation

Sudan's PM Hamdok and Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (file photo: Reuters)
Sudan's PM Hamdok and Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (file photo: Reuters)

A Sudanese minister revealed an Ethiopian delegation visited his country to discuss purchasing more electricity generated in the neighboring country, despite the severe tension between the two sides.

Khartoum and Addis Ababa are in dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the armed conflict over the Sudanese border area of ​​Al-Fashqa, and Ethiopia's accusations of Sudan supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Several media outlets reported a Sudanese role being arranged to restore stability in Ethiopia, despite the declared Ethiopian rejection of the Sudanese initiative led by Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok.

Sudanese Energy Minister Jaden Ali Obeid said that his government has begun discussing understandings with Ethiopia to purchase more electricity.

Jaden, who was speaking to reporters at the "Cup of Tea" forum organized periodically by the independent newspaper al-Tayyar, added that the construction of the GERD is beneficial for Sudan, and the dispute between the two countries is only the issue of exchanging information and establishing a legally binding agreement.

Sudan has repeatedly asserted that the Dam is important. However, the government seems "incompatible" in the actual position on the differences with Ethiopia.

The "civil partner" adheres to negotiation to resolve the crises, indicated by leaked reported related to daily consultations between Hamdok and his "old friend" the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

However, the position of the "military partner" in the transitional government is closer to that of Egypt, as evident from the developed military relations between the two, including the joint exercises.

"Africa Intelligence" magazine stated that the two governing partners in Sudan could play an essential role in the Ethiopian conflict.

"The Sudanese government, which consists of military and civilian representatives, is in an ideal position to talk with all participants in the Ethiopian conflict, through a combination of threats and gestures of friendship."

As head of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD) session, Hamdok adopted a draft initiative to resolve the internal Ethiopian conflict through negotiation.

The official Ethiopian response was surprising, as it considered Sudan a "biased party" in the armed conflict between the Liberation Front and the Ethiopian Defense forces.

Hamdok is still seeking agreement, considering his initiative to achieve peace in Ethiopia as a "return of favor" to the neighboring country.

The Ethiopian PM led the African mediation between civilians and the military, which resulted in the signing of the constitutional document that stipulated power-sharing and the formation of the transitional government with bilateral leadership.

Observers believe Sudan will play a pivotal role in achieving stability in Ethiopia, which prompted Western and African officials to visit Khartoum.

Earlier, the EUSR for the Horn of Africa Annette Weber discussed with Hamdok the GERD issue and the border conflict between the two countries.

"SUNA" quoted Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Mahdi as saying that Weber expressed the Union's concern over the situation in Ethiopia.

The Special Representative was briefed on Sudan's position on the Dam issue and its adherence to a legal agreement binding for all three parties.

In a press release, the government said that Weber informed Hamdok of her visit to Addis Ababa and her meeting with Ethiopian President Sahle Work Zewde and the Prime Minister.

Africa Intelligence reported that Hamdok could play the role of a peacemaker. He has spent ten years in Ethiopia and has excellent relations with his counterpart.

It indicated that the military partner, led by the head of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, possesses tools of pressure on the Ethiopian leadership, without naming these tools, hinting at possible contacts between the Sudanese army and the Tigray rebel forces.



UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel’s military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

Analysts say it’s not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior ... so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s behavior or on the government of Israel,” said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota’s Los Andes University.

She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard.

The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa’s current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid.

The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Colombia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Türkiye, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks.

The Colombian official described Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.

“This is not just about Palestine” Jaramillo said in a press conference. “It is about defending international law... and the right to self-determination.”