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.
