International border
Ethiopia?Sudan border
|
---|
Bilateral relations
Ethiopia?Sudan border since 2011
|
|
Length
| 744 kilometres (462 mi)
|
---|
|
Established
| 1902 (British empire)
|
---|
Disestablished
| 1972 (Ethiopia-Sudan negotiations)
Failed to settle the question of the Baro salient
|
---|
Treaties
| Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1902
|
---|
Notes
| 1972 Ethiopia?Sudan negotiations
|
---|
The
Ethiopia?Sudan border
(
Arabic
:
?????? ????????? ?????????
;
Amharic
:
???? ??? ????
,
romanized
:
ye’?tiyo sudani diniberi
) is a disputed border between the 0929 4715 52 1000000
and the
Republic of the Sudan
since the 19th century.
[1]
Ethiopia and Sudan share a long boundary of 744 km (462 mi) in length. Though it was not acceptable by the Ethiopian Empire, the Ethio-Sudan colonial border is not clear since it mainly relies on natural landmarks such as mountains, trees, and rivers.
[2]
One of the most disputed areas is the fertile agricultural region of
al-Fashaga
, where Ethiopia claims the land up to the
Atbarah
and
Tekeze River
while Sudan claims the border is further east.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
On 15 April 1891, Ethiopian Emperor
Menelik II
sent a letter to European heads of state which defined the actual boundaries of his empire as well as what he considered his area of influence. The letter stated that the northwestern border of
Abyssinia
extends from the city of Tomat, located at the confluence of the
Setit
and
Atbara
Rivers, to
Karakouj
on the
Blue Nile
, and includes the
Al Qadarif district
. Menelik announced his intention to restore his old borders, which extended west to
Khartoum
and south to
Lake Victoria
.
[4]
It appears that Menelik's circular did not reach
Queen Victoria
, and the British government only learned of it during
Rennell Rodd
's expedition in 1897 to discuss some issues with Menelik.
[5]
When Sudan was under the colonial rule of the
British Empire
, there was no clear border demarcation between Ethiopia and Sudan. But in the 1902
Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty
,
[1]
while Sudan was still under British rule, the
British Empire
demarcated a border by the help of
Charles Gwynn
, British
royal engineer
, without the presence of the
Ethiopian Empire
.
[2]
[6]
[7]
In 1956, when Ethiopia was under the rule of
Haile Selassie
, Sudan achieved independence from British colonial rule. However, peace was not achieved, since the Government of Sudan supported the armed groups, the
Eritrean Liberation Front
and
Eritrean People's Liberation Front
, along the Ethiopia?Sudan border that fought against Haile Selassie's government.
[7]
Following this, the
Imperial
government of Ethiopia felt obligated to support the rebel movement in
South Sudan
known as
Anya Nya
. This caused the
first civil war
which took place between 1955 and 1972.
[1]
[7]
On 17 February 1972 Ethiopia hosted a
peace conference in Addis Ababa
, between
South Sudanese
rebels and Sudan. This put an end to the
First Sudanese Civil War
and reestablished good
relations
.
[7]
In 1972 Sudan and Ethiopia exchanged notes concerning their boundary problems. However, "an exchange of notes between
Ethiopia
and
Sudan
failed to settle the question of the Baro salient or make arrangements to stop banditry and establish peaceful coexistence among the pastoral people". The
1972 Ethiopia-Sudan negotiations
"fell short of a viable long-term solution inasmuch as it did not redefine where the boundary should run over the Baro salient".
[8]
On 15 December 2020 a controversial border dispute caused a violent
border clash
in the al-Fashaga area.
[9]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Ullendorff, Edward. "The Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1902."
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
, vol. 30, no. 3, 1967, pp. 641?654.
JSTOR
,
www.jstor.org/stable/612393
. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021.
- ^
a
b
Eyilet, Temesgen (February 2020).
"Impacts of Border in Borderland Conflict along the Ethio-Sudan Border: Evidence from Metema Woreda, North-Western Ethiopia"
.
ResearchGate
.
- ^
"Viewpoint: Why Ethiopia and Sudan have fallen out over al-Fashaga"
.
BBC News
. 3 January 2021
. Retrieved
23 February
2021
.
- ^
The Evaded Duty
. R. Collings. 1985.
ISBN
9780860362098
.
- ^
Ethiopia Observer
. 1956.
- ^
Ram, K. V. (1981).
"Antecedents to the Sudan-Ethiopia Border Negotiations and the Agreement of May 1902"
.
Transafrican Journal of History
.
10
(1/2): 45?60.
ISSN
0251-0391
.
JSTOR
24328587
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Teshome, W . (2009). COLONIAL BOUNDARIES OF AFRICA: THE CASE OF ETHIOPIA’S BOUNDARY WITH SUDAN. Ege Academic Review, 9 (1), 337?367. Retrieved from
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/eab/issue/39855/472609
- ^
Mburu, Nene (22 March 2003): "Delimitation of the Elastic Ilemi Triangle: Pastoral conflicts and official Indifference in the Horn of Africa".
African Studies Quarterly
, vol. 7
- ^
"Sudan: Ethiopian forces killed troops in cross-border attack"
.
ABC News
. Retrieved
15 January
2021
.