Sudan Reopens Border Crossing with Ethiopia

Gallabat border crossing between Sudan and Ethiopia

July 17, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan on Sunday announced the reopening of the border crossing with Ethiopia citing confiding building measures by Addis Ababa.

After the collapse of the al-Bashir regime in April 2019, relations between Sudan and Ethiopia remained strained due to cross-border by the Amhara militiamen. Accordingly, the Sudanese authorities closed and reopened the strategic crossing several times.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Sudanese army spokesman said the Technical Committee of the Security and Defence Council chaired by the head of the Sovereign Council decided to open the Gallabat crossing point starting from Sunday, July 17.

Brigadier Nabil Abdallah Ali pointed to the talks between the leadership of the two countries to settle the border dispute.

Ali further added saying the decision was “in return for the goodwill measures shown by the Ethiopian side to prevent the infiltration of armed elements into Sudanese territory”.

On July 5, al-Burhan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed to form a joint committee to end the border dispute between the two countries.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of an IGAD summit in Nairobi after the murder of seven Sudanese troops and the Sudanese attack on the remaining Ethiopian troops in the border strip.

The border crossing is vital for trade between the two countries, and the main crossing for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian workers to Sudan.

(ST)