Ethiopia makes a tactical ‘retreat’ after clash with Sudanese soldiers at Al Fashaga
Ethiopia government has called for tactically withdraw of Sudanese forces at the disputed border – Al Fashaga, following a deadly clash that left seven Sudanese soldiers dead.
Addis Ababa said they will “investigate” the course of the skirmishes. Ethiopia though admitted that there was clash of forces, they were quick to note that the battled was between forces from a neigbouring army and a ‘”local militia” group.
“The Ethiopian government regrets the loss of life as a result of skirmish between the Sudanese army and a local militia of which an investigation would be carried out soon.
“The government of Ethiopia hopes that Sudanese government would restrain itself from any escalation of the incident and would take measures that could de-escalate the situation,” reads a statement from the Ethiopia government released on Monday.
Ethiopia claimed the incident occurred within its territory before accusing the Sudanese army for leaning to Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the rebels that fought the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopia has vowed to summon her Ambassador to Sudan, over the dispute.
On Monday, Aljazeera reported that Sudanese government summoned its Ambassador to Ethiopia over the killing that took place last Sunday.
Sudan further accused Ethiopian army of public display the corpses of those soldiers to provoke what they called “an appropriate response.”
Sudan and Ethiopia had been frosty relationship, especially following the ongoing mega dam project – the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), in Blue Nile, as well as a contested agricultural land contested by the two neighboring countries.
