SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Analysis-Spillover from Tigray conflict adds to pressure on Sudan

18/12/2020: Reuters - Analysis-Spillover from Tigray conflict adds to pressure on Sudan, by Khalid Abdelaziz, Ali Mirghani and Nafisa Eltahir

Reuters’ feature piece assesses the impact of Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, with the influx of over 50,000 refugees said to “add to the challenges” facing Sudan – raising the price of basic goods rising as aid agencies struggle to source food, water and healthcare.

Tigrayan refugees in Sudan hold forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara ethnic group responsible for much of the violence they fled. Reuters note that Amhara farmers claim rights to lands in the al-Fashqa plain also claimed by Sudan, and clashes sometimes flare during planting and harvest seasons.

Sudan’s information minister Faisal Mohammed Salih said Amhara forces, which back Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have expanded their activity, leading to other incidents in long-disputed farmlands near the border where refugees cross.

Sudanese authorities are keen to move the refugees away from the border in fear that Tigrayan forces could use Sudan as a base, although COVID-19 is complicating logistical operations.