Renewed clashes and mutual accusations ... The specter of war haunts Sudan and Ethiopia
Over the past days, both Ethiopia and Sudan have escalated their rhetoric, after renewed border clashes and accusations from Khartoum of Addis Ababa of violating its airspace.
While the Sudanese army is deployed on the Ethiopian border to secure its lands that are being attacked by Ethiopian-backed militias, Addis Ababa is pushing military build-ups and reinforcements to the border strip with its neighbor, at a time when experts warn of "the specter of war."
In a press conference, today, Saturday, the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, confirmed that his country does not want to ignite a war with Ethiopia, and that it has no interest in entering a war with any of the neighboring countries, stressing that Sudan wants to reach borders that preserve its rights and be fulfilled therein Putting signs on the ground.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces said that what the forces had done on the eastern borders was the deployment of the army inside the Sudanese territories as well as securing the international borders at the known sites, explaining that the Al-Fashaqa area had been subject to repeated attacks on Sudanese farmers by the Ethiopian side.
Al-Burhan added, "What we heard that this Ethiopian land is a new matter that requires us to stand in defense of Sudan's land," noting that the Sudanese army carried out this operation in full coordination with the political and executive apparatus in the state.
Last week, Ethiopian militias attacked agricultural areas inside the "Al Fashaqa" border area, killing 5 women and a child, and the Sudanese army also found the body of one of the two women who went missing during the attack.
And the renewed military conflict between Sudan and Ethiopia, over the border area of Al-Fashaqa, between the two countries, since last December, while the Sudanese army announced its control of the entire Fashaqa lands, accusing Addis Ababa of supporting local militias to attack the Sudanese forces.
On Wednesday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced that an Ethiopian military plane had penetrated the borders between the two countries, which it considered a "dangerous and unjustified escalation," while Ethiopia warns Sudan of its impatience over its neighbor's continued military build-up in a border region.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff, General Berhanu Gula, denied that a fighter jet belonging to his country had penetrated Sudan's airspace.
The Ethiopian army commander said in press statements that a small group within the Sudanese government is working for a third party and behind the incursions, explaining that they aim to mislead the people of Khartoum and Addis Ababa.
Sudan decided, earlier, to ban flights in the area on the Ethiopian border, after renewed clashes on the border between the two countries.
