Sudanese Foreign Ministry denies its approval of Asmara’s request

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it did not agree to participate in a conference called by the Eritrean presidency.

The government prevented a civil and political delegation from arriving in Eritrea by land to participate in a forum sponsored by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to discuss eastern issues.

The authorities stopped the civil delegation, which includes about 112 people, in the “Lafa” area located in Kassala State on the border with Eritrea, because the crossing officials did not receive orders from the central government to cross the delegation of eastern Sudan.

Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq told informed sources that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified through a memorandum from the Eritrean embassy to identify certain figures from the government to participate in the convening of the conference inside the Eritrean territories.” He added, “The Foreign Ministry did not respond to this request, which means its rejection. He pointed out that the request submitted to the Foreign Ministry did not explain the participation of eastern leaders, and added that the Foreign Ministry was not aware of this.

It is expected that the Eritrean leadership will organize a conference dealing with the crucial issues in the eastern Sudan region, to discuss solutions to the crisis if it agrees with the Sudanese leadership and given the green light from the government to intervene.