The Eritrean Defence Minister, Sebhat Ephrem, arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Bakri Hassan Saleh, Agence France Presse agency (AFP) reported on Wednesday. The two were expected to focus on the situation on the Eritrea-Sudan border, following recent allegations by a Sudanese official that Eritrea was backing a rebel offensive against eastern Sudan. Sebhat told reporters on his arrival that the Sudanese minister had invited him to continue the dialogue “on questions left hanging between the two sides, in particular security questions”, AFP said. Eritrea has denied any hostile intentions towards Sudan, and said it was not hosting or backing Sudanese rebels. “There are no Eritrean troop concentrations on the border with Sudan and all press reports about that are completely unfounded”, Sebhat told reporters. Since the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war started in May 1998, Ethiopia has been successful in forging a closer relationship with Sudan, and has expelled Sudan opposition representatives. The main Sudanese rebel group, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), told IRIN recently that it was “no secret” that it had an office in Asmara, Eritrea.
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