News / Sudan

Sudan army claims to recapture agricultural land from Ethiopian forces

Tuesday, 29 December 2020 6:57 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 29 December 2020 7:07 PM ]

Sudanese soldiers stand guard on a street in Khartoum, Sudan, on June 9, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan's army says it has been fighting a border war with neighboring Ethiopia, after Ethiopian forces allegedly occupied most of the agricultural land at the border between the two countries.

The Sudanese army said in a statement on Tuesday that large agricultural areas had been recaptured at its border with Ethiopia, specifying that operations were against federal forces and not Ethiopian militia operating in the troubled region.

The dispute between the two countries has been revolving around the agricultural land in al-Fashqa area, which falls within Sudan's international boundaries but has long been settled by Ethiopian farmers.

The row has culminated in fierce fighting between Sudanese and Ethiopian forces in recent weeks, with each side blaming the other for instigating the violence.

Sudan hosted authorities from Ethiopia for talks in Khartoum this week over the issue of the disputed agricultural land, with Sudanese officials saying the border had been demarcated in the first years of the 20th century and that the ongoing negotiations were limited to talks over placing additional markers on the land at two-kilometer rather than 10-kilometer intervals.

The Sundanese military on Tuesday also claimed that border signs had been uprooted.

Ahead of the talks this week, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Ato Demeke Mekonnen accused the Sudanese military of carrying out attacks, plundering farm products, and exercising violence against Ethiopian refugees.

Tensions have escalated since the outbreak of a conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region last month and the arrival of thousands of mainly Tigrayan refugees in eastern Sudan.

The Ethiopian federal forces have so far launched a number of massive attacks against the purported positions of local rebels in the Tigray region. The violence has forced a large number of people to flee the region and cross the border into neighboring Sudan, which is itself struggling with a severe economic crisis.

Tigray rebel leader says conflict far from over after Ethiopia declares victory

Tigray forces claim fighting with Ethiopian troops continues near the regional capital, Mekelle.

Thousands are feared dead and the United Nations (UN) estimates that more than 950,000 people have been displaced by the conflict, nearly 50,000 of them into neighboring Sudan.

The UN and humanitarian organizations have been pressing for safe access to Tigray, which is home to more than five million people and where 600,000 were dependent on food aid even before the conflict began in early November.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk