Ethiopian forces infiltrated a Sudanese border region in February to deliver weapons and ammunition to a rebel group that has for years fought Sudan’s security forces, military officials in Khartoum said.
The officials said the delivery took place in the Yaboos area near the border town of Kurmuk in the restive Blue Nile region.
A senior delegation from the Sudanese military will visit the area this week to assess the situation, they said.
Quoting intelligence gathered in the region, officials said the Ethiopians wanted the rebels to use the arms and ammunition to capture Kurmuk from Sudanese forces.
Sudan and Ethiopia are locked in a dangerously escalating frontier dispute. They have engaged in deadly clashes and massed troops in the border region.
There was no comment immediately available from Addis Ababa on the arms shipment. It has in the past accused Sudan of stirring unrest among disgruntled ethnic groups in Ethiopia.
The border tension between the two countries began when the Sudanese military in December moved to wrest back control of farmland long held by members of Ethiopia’s powerful ethnic Amhara group.
Ethiopia said the Sudanese military was fuelling the dispute for the benefit of its ally Egypt, both of whom are at odds with Addis Ababa over a Nile dam that Cairo claims will reduce its share of the river’s water.
The military officials said the weapons and ammunition were delivered on February 27 to rebels belonging to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North led by Abdel-Aziz Al Hilu.
They identified the local commander who took the delivery as Joseph Toka.
Sudan’s top soldier and de facto head of state, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, on March 4 met Mr Al Hilu.
The previously unannounced meeting took place in Juba, capital of South Sudan, during a brief stopover by Gen Al Burhan on the way home from a brief visit to Uganda.
The Sudanese leader reportedly asked the rebel leader to start peace negotiations with Khartoum.
SPLA-North is one of two rebel groups that are yet to sign a peace deal with the transitional Sudanese government running the country after the removal in April 2019 of longtime dictator Omar Al Bashir.
The rest of the country’s rebel groups, mostly small and with little or no territory under their control in the west and south of the country, signed a peace deal in October.
Sudan and Ethiopia have a history stretching back to the second half of the last century of supporting rebel groups fighting the other’s government.
But the two countries are also bound by deep social and economic ties, with some ethnic groups living on both sides of the border.
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Chatham House Rule
A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding, was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”.
The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.
The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
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Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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