Sudan has recalled its ambassador from Egypt for consultations, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, without giving details on why or how long he would stay, reported Reuters.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said it is evaluating the situation in order to take “appropriate action”.
Egypt’s Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zaid, stated that an announcement has been sent to the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum notifying them of the recall of the Sudanese Ambassador to Egypt for consultation.
Zaid added that Egypt is evaluating the situation in order to act accordingly, without going into further details.
Relations have been soured by disputes over the ownership of the Halayeb Triangle border area, and over the use of the water from the River Nile that passes through their territories.
Sudan has accused Cairo of political meddling and banned imports of Egyptian agricultural products last year.
Moreover, this week, the head of Sudan’s Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (TCBD), Abdallah al-Sadiq, warned that the Egyptian authorities actions in the disputed Halayeb region will backfire against Egypt.
The Sudanese Media Center quoted the official as saying that the continuation of the Egyptian aggression on Halayeb is an attempt to drag Sudan into direct conflict,according to Egypt Today.
He called for a peaceful solution to the dispute stressing, “Halayeb is Sudanese territory and we will retake it.”
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said in earlier statements that there are two scenarios to resolve the dispute with Egypt over Halayeb; the first is through dialogue as Egypt did with Saudi Arabia over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir or by resorting to International arbitration as Egypt did with Israel over Taba.
Last week, the Egyptian authorities passed a number of resolutions to strengthen its presence on the islands including filing a complaint with the UN Security Council against Sudan
In response, Sudan has, on its part, expressed concern over the border agreement between Cairo and Riyadh concerning the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanfir, which they claim entrenches Egypt’s occupation of Halayeb.
