Sudan Finance Minister Softens Stance Over Adré Border Crossing

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Port Sudan — Finance minister Jibril Ibrahim seemed to soften his stance regarding closing the Adré border crossing between Sudan and Chad, following a heated exchange earlier this week between him and US officials. The crossing is set to close in November unless a new agreement is reached.

Jibril Ibrahim, Sudanese finance minister and leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)-aligned Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), stipulated two “strict” conditions upon which the Adré crossing, crucial for aid deliveries and refugee movements between Chad and Sudan, could remain open. In a post on X on Tuesday, he stated:

As previously reported by Dabanga, Ibrahim initially asserted that the Adré border crossing should be promptly closed “today before tomorrow”, accusing it of being a “main conduit for lethal weapons” aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Three days prior to setting Jibril softening his stance, Tom Perriello, the US Special Envoy to Sudan, accused Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission–linked to the SAF and JEM–of imposing “bureaucratic barriers” that delay humanitarian aid for over seven million Sudanese in need, calling for the border crossing to remain open.

The same day, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller echoed Perriello’s statement via X, urging the Sudanese government to keep the crossing open past November 15.

It is worth noting that the Sudanese finance minister was in Washington DC, the capital of the United States, on Tuesday to attend a World Bank meeting.