06 Feb 2021; MEMO: Border clashes between the Sudanese army and Ethiopian forces were renewed in Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra on Thursday. Sudanese sources have confirmed that the army has regained control of new lands previously seized by Ethiopian forces.
The clashes that took place on Thursday were confirmed by Sudanese local media, the Sudan Tribune, Al-Sudani and Altaghyeer, reporting that fatalities and injuries occurred on the Sudanese side due to the fighting.
The Sudan Tribune reported that the Sudanese army on Thursday recovered an area on the borders following clashes with Ethiopian forces and militias in Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra, resulting in one death and eight injuries in the Sudanese forces.
The news website quoted military sources stating that the army managed to re-control the area of Cumbo Melkamu located in Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra, adjacent to the border strip with the Ethiopian Amhara region.
The news was also confirmed by Altaghyeer newspaper, quoting a military source stating: "The army forces liberated one of the Sudanese areas on the eastern borders."
The military source confirmed that the area of Cumbo Melkamu had also been re-controlled by Sudanese troops.
Al-Sudani newspaper quoted eyewitnesses in the village of Barakat Noreen, claiming that Ethiopian forces attacked Sudanese forces, who responded and took control of the territory.
Recently, the borders between Khartoum and Addis Ababa witnessed significant developments, which led to an intervention by the Sudanese army with the aim of "regaining control of all of its territories."
Sudan previously accused Ethiopia of supporting militias in usurping its lands, while Addis Ababa denied the allegations, amid stalled border demarcation negotiations between the two sides.
On 19 December, Sudan announced sending military reinforcements to the border area with Ethiopia, to "regain control over its usurped lands from an Ethiopian militia" in Al-Fashqa.
Prior to that, on 16 December, the Sudanese army announced the fall of casualties and losing military equipment in an attack launched by an Ethiopian militia in lands near Al-Fashqa.
The conflict in Al-Fashqa border area has been ongoing for decades, but it was limited to incidents between Ethiopian and Sudanese farmers, as Ethiopian gunmen frequently attacked Sudanese farmers for the purpose of looting and plundering. According to Khartoum, many were killed and injured in these aggressions.
The exceptionally fertile lands of Al-Fashqa are divided into three regions: Al-Fashqa Al-Kubra, Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra and the Southern Region.
