The Sudanese military says a number of soldiers have been killed in an attack by Ethiopian forces on a checkpoint.
Sudanese military sources told Reuters news agency that six soldiers had been killed in an attack near the border between the two countries on Saturday.
Earlier, the Sudanese army said in a statement on Facebook that al-Fashqa had attacked its forces in al-Sugra, killing several Ethiopian troops and militias.
“Our forces have resolutely resisted the attack and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers,” they said in a statement.
The army’s statement said Sudanese forces had “killed several people” but did not give a death toll.
Ethiopia did not immediately return a request for comment.
Tensions between the two countries have risen since last year when thousands of refugees sought refuge in neighboring Sudan after fighting broke out between government forces and rebels in Ethiopia’s Tigris region.
Adjacent to Tigris, al-Fasha is a disputed border area. Ethiopian farmers have been cultivating the land but claiming ownership of the Sudanese territory. Tensions are already high between Sudan and Ethiopia over the region, with both sides accusing each other of violence and border violations.
This is contributing to the escalation of tensions in the border region. Ethiopia’s controversial ‘Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’ over the Nile is in dispute with Sudan and Egypt.
The river is the main source of water in the lower reaches of the Nile, Sudan and Egypt. They consider the Ethiopian dam a threat to existence.
