June 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s Security And Defence Council decided to reinforce its forces deployed on the eastern border following the recent Ethiopian military build-up on the other side of the border.

Sudanese military officials told the Sudan Tribune on Tuesday about the deployment of extra troops of the Ethiopian army in the Amhara region near the border with Gadaref state.

The move comes as Ethiopian militiamen intensified their attacks on Sudanese farmers and kidnapped some of them in a bid to force them to abandon their lands.

The matter, among others, was discussed in a regular meeting of the Security and Defence Council chaired by the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Thursday.

Speaking after the meeting, Interior Minister Izz al-Din al-Sheikh aid the meeting was briefed about the situation there following the recent attacks by the Ethiopian militiamen in the Fashaga area.

"The council issued a number of decisions to strengthen the security presence in the Al-Fashqa Al-Sughra and Al-Fashqa Al-Kubra areas," he said referring to the two parties of the disputed area.

"The Council also commended the efforts made by the armed forces on the eastern borders," he added.

The two countries stopped discussions over the border dispute in December 2020 when Ethiopian officials called for talks on the border demarcation rejecting the signed agreements between the two countries.

Al-Sheikh said the meeting further discussed the issue of the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the coordination with Egypt.

On Wednesday 9 June; foreign and irrigation ministers from Egypt and Sudan agreed to coordinate positions ahead of a meeting the African Union plans to hold soon.

(ST)