South Sudan says Ethiopia ‘has full capacity’ to handle its conflict

JUBA – A senior South Sudan government official has stressed that the federal government of Ethiopia is capable of handling its ongoing internal conflict in the country’s northern part, deploring external interference in Ethiopian affairs.

South Sudan defense minister and senior member of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), Angelina Teny, made the remarks following a meeting with Ethiopian ambassador to Juba Nebil Mehdi over the weekend.

In a statement, the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs said Amb. Mehdi briefed Teny “about the atrocities that had been committed by the TPLF terrorist group in Afar and Amhara regional states.”

The Ethiopian envoy said, according to the foreign ministry statement, “the destructive challenges from this terror group has now been reversed due to the ENDF’s measures and Ethiopians unity at home and abroad.”

For her part, South Sudan’s Teny said “Ethiopian Government has ensured that it has full capacity to stabilize its internal situations. The stability in Ethiopia is the stability of the whole region and Africa as well, she added.”

While highlighting the IGAD role as a regional player and South Sudan peace guarantor, Teny “also expressed her firm conviction that Ethiopia would continue its leadership in these regard over the region and the whole continent.”