Sudan’s army chief visits Ethiopian capital

[Deeq A.]

Sudanese Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Emad al-Din Mustafa Adawi

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia–Sudanese Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Emad al-Din Mustafa Adawi visited capital Addis Ababa on Monday, just two days after Sudan shut its eastern border with Eritrea, according to state-affiliated FANA broadcasting service.

Gen. Adawi met Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in the capital.

Last year, the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance joint security and military cooperation between the two neighboring countries in the fight against terrorism, FANA said.

The closure of the border by Sudan came amid reports that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates had set up a military camp in Sawa in Eritrea, a northern neighbor to Ethiopia.

Eritrea, however, denies giving permission to Egyptian and Emirati military for any such activity.

According to some analysts, Egypt might want to use Eritrea as a pawn in its relations with Ethiopia, whose $4.8billion hydro dam project made Egypt uneasy.

Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 and between 1998 and 2000 the two countries fought a bloody war in which 70,000 people were believed to have been perished.

AA