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An Ethiopian government spokesman described the Sudanese army’s attack on Sudan as “baseless”.
Ethiopia has denied a shared attack on the Sudanese border over the weekend, and has blamed unrest in the conflict-ridden area on rebels in the war-torn Tigray region.
On saturday The Sudanese military said “Several” soldiers were killed in an attack by armed groups and militias linked to the Ethiopian army in a fertile area known as Al-Fashaqa.
The area has long been a source of tension between Addis Ababa and Khartoum, and has led to deadly clashes over the past year.
But in comments to state media on Sunday, Ethiopian government spokesman Legesse Tulu denied that the army had attacked Sudan as “baseless”.
Instead, he blamed the violence on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a group of fighters trapped in a horrific war against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government since November 2020, and says he is approaching the capital Addis Ababa.
“A large group of rebels, bandits and terrorists joined [from Sudan], ”Legess said in comments issued by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation without providing any evidence.
“They have been destroyed by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and its militias,” he added.
Legess also said the TPLF was training in Sudan and was receiving support from unspecified “foreign sponsors”.
The land in Al-Fashaqa has been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers for years, even though Sudan says they are entering its territory.
In November 2020, Abiy sent troops to Tigray to remove the TPLF, a move Khartoum had deployed to Al-Fashaqa, a move described by Addis Ababa as an invasion.
‘Peaceful solution’
However, Legess said Ethiopia was keen to resolve the issue peacefully.
“The Ethiopian National Defense Forces has no agenda to open an attack on any sovereign country,” he said, referring to the military.
“There is a land invaded by Sudanese forces. The government is sitting down to fix it [the dispute] in a peaceful process, through dialogue and negotiation. ”
The war in northern Ethiopia has killed thousands and taken hundreds of thousands more like starvation, according to UN estimates.
Last week, Abiy, the winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, announced that he would go to the front to direct operations against the TPLF.
On Sunday, state media reported that military and special forces in the Afar region had taken over the town of Chifra.
The area around the figures has been fierce fighting in recent weeks, with the TPLF apparently trying to take control of a critical highway that brings goods to Addis Ababa.
A TPLF source on Monday discussed the state media report, saying “an active struggle is taking place.”
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