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AL-QADARIF, Sudan
The Sudanese army has retaken control of an area in the al-Fashqa border region with Ethiopia, a senior Sudanese military official said on Monday.
“All we have done is restore our land, which is known to all [as part of Sudanese territory]”said Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Khaled Abdin al-Shami, speaking with the Anadolu Agency in the eastern state of Al-Qadarif.
According to the Sudanese authorities, some Ethiopian gangs seize the lands of Sudanese farmers in al-Fashqa after forcing them out. Sudan accuses the Ethiopian army of supporting these gangs, which Addis Ababa denies.
On December 19, Sudan announced the dispatch of a large number of military reinforcements to the Ethiopian border to “regain its usurped lands from an Ethiopian militia” in al-Fashqa, according to the Sudanese News Agency.
The military commander pointed out that there are still areas to be taken.
“We can take back what’s left of our land. We reach the borders [with Ethiopia]. The land we lost 20 years ago is under full control and we can take the rest in other ways, “Al-Shami said, without elaborating.
He stressed that “the other side [Ethiopia] knows where the international borders are. We have not gone beyond those borders, nor will we go, and we are not calling for war with neighboring countries. “
No comment could be obtained from the Ethiopian authorities immediately.
Last week, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok discussed border demarcation with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed during a summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a grouping of seven East African countries, in Djibouti.
* Written by Mahmoud Barakat
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