Egypt, Sudan Launch Joint Military Drills Amid Dispute with Ethiopia

Sudan

KHARTOUM (Somaliguardian) – Egypt and Sudan’s armed forces have launched joint military drills dubbed “Guardians of the Nile” amid mounting tensions with Ethiopia over a mega dam it is constructing on the Blue Nile River.

Dozens of the two countries land, air and naval forces are participating in the military exercises launched in Sudan in a ceremony attended by senior security and military officials.

It comes as Egypt and Sudan continue diplomatic efforts aimed at forging friendly ties with many African countries to isolate Ethiopia due to its “intransigence” over the Nile dam issue and to push for its return to African Union-mediated negotiations.

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has arrived in Djibouti on Thursday in an attempt to win its support in bringing Ethiopia back to the negotiating table to end long-running Renaissance Dam crisis.

“The activities of the Egyptian-Sudanese joint training (Guardians of the Nile), which are being carried out in Sudan, have been launched with the participation of elements of the land, naval and air forces of both sides,” a spokesman for Egypt’s army said in a statement on Thursday.

“The training [is intended] to ensure a series of theory and practical lectures to unify combat concepts, share training experiences and implement common outlook on different goals.”

Sudan said the military drills are aimed at “unifying methods on dealing with threats that both countries are expected to face”, triggering an ire in Ethiopia, which stressed that its army is capable of defending the country if it experiences any military aggression on its borders.

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