After Somalia, PM Abiy Ahmed backs Sudan following coup attempt

Khartoum: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) meets the head Of Sudan’s military council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman, at the airport on Friday.—Reuters

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopia becomes the latest Horn of Africa nation to back Sudan following a coup attempt, hours after Somalia sent a similar message, where it insisted on undivided support to the northern Africa nation.

Through Abdirizak Mohamed, the foreign affairs minister, Somalia condemned the coup and called for respect towards public institutions which are mandated to run the government. Somalia also assured Khartoum of unsolicited support.

And on Tuesday, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also reaffirmed Addis Ababa's full support for Sudan. Ethiopia will play its own role in fulfilling the aspirations of peoples of the two brotherly countries for development, prosperity, and social justice, the premier reiterated, state media reported.

“We wish Sudan to overcome its current ordeal with the wisdom and professionalism accustomed to our brothers and people in Sudan," the embattled Ethiopia PM said.

"We believe that Sudan should not, in any way, allow external interference, and apparent and hidden dictates,” the Prime Minister noted, adding that Sudan deserves the international community's support.

While noting that Ethiopia and Sudan are facing challenges while building democratic foundations, Prime Minister Abiy said that the government and people of Ethiopia are following the current situation in Sudan closely with good intentions.

PM Abiy expressed optimism that Sudan will overcome the current circumstance itself without any external interference. Members of the military and civilians who had a close relationship with the ousted administration of Omar al-Bashir are said to have engineered the coup.

Al-Bashir, who is set to be handed over to the International Criminal Court [ICC] over crimes against humanity at Darfur, was toppled in 2019 following a civilian uprising. Since then, there have been two coup attempts by his sympathizers in the country.

As Sudan is struggling to do away with remnants of al-Bashir's administration, Somalia and Ethiopia are facing a host of challenges. Ethiopia has struggled to quell ethnic cleansing in Tigray while Somalia is battling with Al-Shabaab and a number of internal challenges.

GAROWE ONLINE