Ethiopia army carries out fresh attacks on Sudanese border strip

November 27, 2021 (GADARIF) –  At least six Sudanese soldiers were killed during an attack by the Ethiopian army on the border strip on Saturday morning.

Heavy fighting erupted between Sudanese forces and Ethiopian troops that crossed the border at a depth of 17 km on Saturday.

Fierce battles took place east of Umm Disa and Barakat Noreen not far from the Ethiopian settlement of Malkamo, which is located inside Sudanese territory east of the Atbara River.

Heavy artillery and machine guns were used in the fighting that lasted more than seven hours, according to Sudanese military sources.

The same sources told the Sudan Tribune that about 21 troops were killed from the Sudanese side.

However, Lt-Colonel Ibrahim Al-Houri, Editor-in-chief of the Armed Forces newspaper, said that the “army mourned 6 martyrs in Al-Fashqa” bringing to 90 the number of Sudanese troops killed in the border clashes since April 2020.

The Sudanese army, in a statement released earlier, said that the assailants “suffered huge losses in lives and equipment,” without further details.

The Ethiopian army which is battling against the Tigray rebels did not issue a statement about these clashes.

Sudanese commentators say the attack was meant to draw internal support for the embattled prime minister Abiy Ahmed and his troops who are seeking to stop the progress of the TPLF fighters towards the Ethiopian capital.

(ST)