According to the statement, Nabil Mahdi, Ethiopian ambassador in Juba, capital of South Sudan, made the exhortation in a meeting with Mayiik Ayii Deng, Foreign Minister of the latter country, during which they discussed other issues of bilateral interest.

According to the Gambela Press Secretariat, Mahdi reported on issues of security and economic growth on the border between the two countries and insisted on the need to eliminate insecurity in all the territories they share as soon as possible.

It is urgent to solve this situation in order to establish a context that allows Ethiopia and South Sudan to concentrate on working to increase connections with different infrastructures, including roads, and increase cooperation, Mahdi said.

Ayii Deng, for his part, agreed with the Ethiopian diplomat’s assessment and added that “expanding efforts with the aim of guaranteeing security and peace on the border will also benefit the rest of the East African countries.”

The police has denounced several times this year invasions and attacks on civilians attributed to South Sudanese militiamen, including one in January that left at least eight dead and five injured.

In February, the main attack reported by the police was against the Dima refugee camp and the Gog administrative constituency, with one person killed, two injured and three children abducted.

pgh/llp/oda/raj