ETHIOPIA: Eritrean foreign minister, Sudan’s Burhan discuss Tigray crisis

KHARTOUM – A visiting Eritrean delegation led by the country’s foreign minister, Osman Saleh, has met and discussed the Tigray crisis with the President of Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah al Burhan in Khartoum on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Eritrean ministry of information, the delegation which also include President Isaias Afwerki’s advisor, Yemane Ghebreab, also discussed with the Sudanese leader several other issues of ‘paramount importance’ between the two countries.

“The message and ensuing discussions focused on current developments in Ethiopia and their ramifications for regional peace and stability,” reads the statement issued by the Eritrean Information Ministry in Asmara.

For its part, the Sudanese Sovereign Council said in a separate statement that the Eritrean delegation delivered a message that it said is related to bilateral relations between Khartoum and Asmara and how to develop those relations.

Sudan has in the past said that it is neutral in the inter-Ethiopian crisis and opened its border to around 50,000 civilian refugees. Also, the Sudanese army arrested the fleeing Ethiopian military and returned them back to the Ethiopian authorities.

On the other hand, the Sudanese army redeployed troops in border areas and expelled Ethiopian militiamen who used to attack Sudanese farmers.

According to Reuters, U.S. officials believe now that Eritrean troops are involved in the fighting against the TPLF forces in Tigray alongside the Ethiopian federal army.

“Evidence of Eritrean involvement cited in the U.S. view of the month-long war includes satellite images, intercepted communications and anecdotal reports from Tigray region,” five diplomats and a security source Reuters said are all briefed on the U.S. assessment said.