Sudan’s military says Ethiopia has killed seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian who were held captive by Addis Ababa, the latest sign of the deteriorating ties between the two east African nations.
A Sudanese military statement late Sunday described the killings as a “cowardly act” and added that Khartoum will retaliate accordingly. The statement provided no details as to who the eight were or how they ended up in Ethiopian hands. There was no official statement from Ethiopia.
Ties between the two neighbours have deteriorated in recent years amid a long-running border dispute over large swaths of agricultural land in the al-Fashaqa area. Sudan insists the lands are within its borders, according to an agreement that demarcated the boundary between their territories in the early 1900s.
Sporadic clashes have erupted over the past two years there, after Sudan said it reclaimed most of its territory and called on Ethiopia to withdraw troops from at least two points it says are inside Sudan.
In November, Sudan said six of its troops were killed in an attack by Ethiopian military and militia forces in the area. The two nations have held rounds of talks, most recently in Khartoum in December 2020, to settle the dispute over al-Fashaqa, but have not made progress.
Ethiopia, in turn, says Sudan took advantage of the deadly conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region to enter Ethiopian territory. It has called for Sudanese troops to return to positions they held before the Tigray fighting erupted in November 2020, pitting Ethiopia’s federal forces against regional fighters.