KHARTOUM (Somaliguardian) – Sudanese Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff Khalid Abdeen Al-Shami has arrived at Al-Faqasha region on Wednesday to lead ongoing military operations as border tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia are feared to turn into an all-out combat.
Tensions have been steadily increasing on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border over the past days, after Sudanese army claimed to have regained control of border lands that had been controlled by Ethiopia for decades, at a time when regional political analysts raise fear that the dispute will develop into an all-out war between the neighboring countries.
The Sudanese army announced last week that it had recaptured about 80 percent of the fertile “Faqasha” settlements, which were occupied by Ethiopian militias and peasants for decades.
Ethiopia said the Sudanese army had launched an offensive using heavy weapons and armored machines which resulted in the destruction of more than $25 million worth property owned by Ethiopian farmers. It also accused Sudanese troops of killing and wounding a number of civilians, an accusation Sudan has not immediately commented.
Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti reiterated allegations that the border tensions are fueled by “external forces” and that the dispute could only be ended through a diplomatic settlement between the two countries.
Deputy Chief of Staff for Sudanese army said on Tuesday that his troops were fighting regular Ethiopian forces and not militias as clashes still continue on the border between the two countries.
Border tensions escalated after Sudanese army announced that an Ethiopian militia ambushed their troops inside the country’s international borders, during which 3 soldiers and an officer with the rank of major were killed.
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