Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok briefly visited Ethiopia on Sunday to discuss security matters with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Arab News reported.
Ethiopian government launched a military offensive against a rebellious regional government in Tigray on Nov. 4, killing hundreds in the conflict that followed, while 50,000 Ethiopians escaped in Sudan crossing the northwestern border.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has appealed for $150 million to help cope with the refugee crisis that is straining the humanitarian infrastructure in Sudan.
By December 1, more than 45,000 refugees had already crossed the Ethiopian-Sudanese border with UN warning that those numbers could swell to as much as 200,000 depending on how the conflict will develop.
While Sudan agreed to welcome Ethiopian refugees, it is not prepared for the influx it resulted in with the villages of Hamdayet and Hashaba being flooded with thousands of refugees, and the food and the blankets that local NGOs collected quickly ran out.
Hamdok said that they’ve reached an understanding on various issues following discussion between the two delegations, hoping for productive outcome from the situation.
“I look forward to having productive discussions on political, humanitarian and security matters of common concern that serve the future of peace, stability and prosperity for our two sisterly nations and the region,” he said.