By Our Correspondent, KHARTOUM Sudan
The number of Ethiopian refugees crossing into Sudan on Tuesday reached more than 6,000 people, as the Commission of Refugees fears that hundreds of thousands will arrive during the upcoming days.
Fighting continued in the
neighbouring Tigray region for the sixth consecutive day, as Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed reiterated his determination to crush the "illegal"
government in Tigray region before to ceasefire.
The official news agency SUNA
reported that the number of Ethiopian refugees who arrived in the Sudanese
border areas of Luqdi, Qudaymah and Hamdayit has reached more than 6,000
Ethiopians.
SUNA stressed that the Ethiopians
stranded on the eastern bank of the Atbara River, waiting to cross into the
Sudanese territory are constantly increasing.
Also, a Sudanese official from
the Commission of Refugees - Sudan told the agency under the cover of anonymity
that they expect more than 200,000 Ethiopians arrive during the coming days in
the Gadaref State.
He added that a such number of
refugees exceeds the capabilities of Al-Shajarab refugee camp in Gadaref state.
The chairman of the African Union
Commission, Moussa Faki, Tuesday called for the "immediate cessation of
hostilities" in Tigray region.
Faki further urged the federal
government and Tigray’s state government to seek a peaceful settlement, before
to offer his support to an effort to resolve the conflict.
President of the Tigray region,
Debretsion Gebremichael, last Sunday called on the African Union to intervene
to stop the country from "spiralling into civil war".
Gebremichael called on the
federal government to agree to negotiate with them.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, the
Ethiopian Prime Minister said the law enforcement operations in Tigray "will
cease as soon as the criminal junta is disarmed, legitimate administration in
the region restored, and fugitives apprehended & brought to justice".
Gedu Andargachew the National
Security Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Khartoum
Tuesday where he met with the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamodk.
In a statement released after the
meeting, the Sovereign Council said that Andargachew stressed "the Ethiopian
government’s ability to address the situation as soon as possible".
The cabinet office for its part
said the Ethiopian envoy briefed Hamdok about the ongoing developments in the
Tigray region.
The Sudanese prime minister who is also the head of the IGAD sought in vain to convince his Ethiopia counterpart to accept the mediation of the East African block. – Sudan Tribune
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