Sudan: response to killing of Sudanese in Ethiopia will be ‘reality on the ground’

The head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan insisted yesterday that the response to the killing of eight Sudanese citizens in Ethiopia will be a “tangible reality on the ground” to deter such incidents in the future, Anadolu has reported. The commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army made his comment while inspecting troops in Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra on the eastern border with Ethiopia.

Earlier on Monday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced that it has recalled its ambassador from Addis Ababa and expelled the Ethiopian ambassador after the army announcement that Ethiopian soldiers had “executed” seven soldiers and a civilian being detained on the border. The Foreign Ministry in the Ethiopian capital expressed its regret over the killing. It pledged to open an investigation of a local militia. However, it rejected Khartoum’s claim that Ethiopia is responsible for the incident.

Al-Burhan stressed the determination of the Sudanese army to perform its duty to protect the land and the country’s honour. “The determination of the members of the armed forces will not diminish, they are moving on the path of sacrifice and martyrdom for the country,” he said. “The blood of the martyrs will not be lost in vain; the response will be a tangible reality on the ground, and what happened in Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra will not be repeated.”

Al-Burhan ordered that no new movements or encroachments on Sudanese land and citizens will be permitted beyond the internationally-recognised border.

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There has been tension on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border for some time. Khartoum announced on 31 December 2020 that the Sudanese army had taken over all of Sudan’s territory within Al-Fashqa border area with Ethiopia. Addis Ababa accuses its neighbour Sudan of controlling Ethiopian land, which Khartoum denies.

Al-Fashqa includes the most fertile agricultural lands in Sudan. It is divided into three regions: Al-Fashqa Al Kobra, Al-Fashqa Al Sughra and the Southern Region.