Ethiopian and Sudanese leaders gathered in Nairobi in a cold weather

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that he met with the powerful Sudanese President General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan in Nairobi on Tuesday on the sidelines of the East African Organization (EGAD) summit, a few days after a new border incident occurred between the two countries that were opposed by many disputes.

“Both of us have recognized that our two countries have many elements of cooperation to work on peacefully,” Abi Ahmed said in a tweet on his official account, accompanied by pictures showing the two leaders talking with a smile.

Our common bonds transcend any differences. We are both committed to dialogue and peaceful resolution of outstanding issues.”

The meeting was held “on the sidelines of the Agad meeting”, which brings together on Tuesday – for the first time in 18 months – the leaders of the region’s countries in the Kenyan capital, according to the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s office.

In Khartoum, the Sovereignty Council, the transitional authority headed by General Burhan, simply reported a “meeting behind closed doors” between the two men.

At the end of June, the Sudanese army – led by General Burhan, who has been in power in Sudan since the October 2021 coup – accused the Ethiopian army of executing seven of its soldiers and a civilian who had been captured in Sudanese territory, in the disputed region. Vashaga border.

The Ethiopian authorities denied that and accused the Sudanese forces of entering Ethiopian territory and sparked a clash – fatal on both sides – with a local militia.

The tone rose before Mr. Abiy called on his country and Sudan to “keep their nerves”.

The Fashagha region has been under litigation for several decades, but at times fatal clashes have multiplied there since the end of 2020, and this new episode of tension has alarmed the African Union and Egad.

This border crisis adds to the serious dispute over the Gerd River, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam built by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile, which angers Sudan, as well as Egypt, the Nile River downstream countries that fear for their water supplies. .

Ethiopia is due to begin filling the dam for the third time in August, a potential source of new tensions with its neighbour.