Sudanese rebels “assisted”

Sudan’s Kassala State Governor Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid has accused Eritrea of helping Sudanese rebels plan an offensive in eastern Sudan, AFP reported. An independent newspaper, As-Sahafi ad-Dawli, quoted Hamid accusing Eritrea of “planning and carrying out military operations for the rebel movement”, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The daily further cited unnamed sources as saying that SPLA forces, reinforced by Eritrean tanks and long-range artillery, were seen on the Eritrean side of the border ready to launch an offensive on eastern Sudan. The sources told the daily that Eritrea had become hostile toward Sudan because it believed that the Sudanese government had offered Ethiopian troops access to western Eritrea through Sudanese territory during the war.

Eritrean presidential spokesperson Yemane Gebremeskel denied that Eritrea was hosting or facilitating Sudanese rebels. “The rebels are in eastern Sudan, what they do is out of our control” he told IRIN. He confirmed there had been complaints by the Eritrean government regarding Sudanese facilitation of Ethiopian troops during the most recent conflict, but said it was “long forgotten”. “There were talks with the embassy and they were given the details, but it is no big deal”, he said.

According to Yemane, a Sudanese delegation had attended a tripartite meeting in Asmara on Friday to discuss the return of at least 70,000 Eritrean refugees presently in eastern Sudan as a result of the recent conflict with Ethiopia. He told IRIN that the accusations of Eritrea aiding rebels “came as a surprise....and must be some hidden agenda connected with the return of the refugees”.