US calls for de-escalation between Sudan and Ethiopia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday insisted on easing tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia amid growing fears of a spillover from the bloody Tigray conflict.

In a phone call with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Blinken spoke of “the need to defuse tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia over the Al-Fashaqa border area, including recent commitments by initiate a dialogue to resolve the problem, ”State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The fertile area claimed by the two countries has seen an increase in skirmishes as Sudan sends troops, what Ethiopia has called an invasion.

Farmland borders Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where Addis Ababa launched an offensive against local leaders in November, sending some 60,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan.

The United States has increasingly criticized Ethiopia, a longtime ally, with Blinken earlier claiming the Tigray campaign involved “ethnic cleansing.”

American relations have warmed markedly with Sudan since Hamdok, a civilian, took office in a transitional government after the overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Last week, Sudan paid $ 335 million in compensation for anti-US attacks since Bashir welcomed al Qaeda. Blinken separately welcomed Sudan’s signing of an agreement with a rebel faction, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North,

Blinken also discussed the latest attempts to revive diplomacy on the Ethiopian Renaissance Grand Dam, on which Addis Ababa continues its efforts despite protests from Sudan and Egypt which rely heavily on Nile water.

The US-led talks under former President Donald Trump did not result in a resolution. The United Arab Emirates recently became the latest to offer mediation.