April 1, 2021 last updated 8:48 ET The banks of the Tekeze River, at the Sudan-Ethiopia border, Dec. 15, 2020 (AP photo by Nariman El-Mofty).
Ethiopia-Sudan Border Skirmishes Spark Fears of a Wider War
In mid-February, Sudan summoned home its ambassador to Ethiopia amid an escalating dispute over a stretch of agricultural land along the two countries’ border. Both sides have accused each other of seizing territory by force, and Sudanese authorities have reported at least a dozen deaths, including some soldiers, due to incursions by Ethiopian militias. There is now an uncomfortably high possibility of an open military conflict between the two neighbors, both of which have grappled with domestic unrest in recent months and are going through their own delicate political transitions. Such a border war would be a serious threat to regional security.
Sudan has recently shifted its position in the negotiations on Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Nile River, as Khartoum grows more concerned about the dam’s impact on its own dams and agriculture.
The latest round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the controversial Nile River dam again collapsed amid Sudanese objections and calls for African Union experts to take on a greater role in resolving the dispute.