Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemetti), yesterday (Thursday) to discuss peace and stability issues in Sudan.
Hemetti, on his second regional tour since the outbreak of war between his forces and the Sudanese army nine months ago, arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, yesterday morning, leading a delegation of his aides. He received an official reception by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen.
According to a tweet on his official Twitter account, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he received Hemetti and the accompanying delegation and discussed securing peace and stability in Sudan.
Hemetti, in a tweet on his Twitter account, expressed gratitude to the Ethiopian government and people for their sympathy with the Sudanese people and “hosting the war refugees.”
He stated, “Ethiopia has always stood by the Sudanese people, alongside the historical ties between the two nations.”
Sources indicated that Hemetti would visit Kenya and then South Sudan to bolster support from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for him in the upcoming meeting with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Hemetti was supposed to meet Burhan in Djibouti yesterday, but the IGAD presidency informed the group’s foreign ministry of postponing the meeting until January for “technical reasons,” which were not specified.
