Sudan army shells disputed border with Ethiopia

Sudan's armed forces fired heavy artillery during clashes in a disputed eastern region bordering Ethiopia, an Ethiopian official said, the latest salvo in a long-running feud over their shared border.

On Tuesday Sudan was able to capture Jabal Kala al-Laban, an area near the contested border, following an artillery barrage and an airstrike, according to a Sudanese military source who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the press.

“…the Gov’t of #Ethiopia categorically rejects the misrepresentation of these facts by the #Sudan-ese defense forces that unjustly put the blame on Ethiopia while it was the Sudanese army unit that has crossed into the Ethiopian border provoking the incident.” @mfaethiopia pic.twitter.com/3VWRfZyjGZ

— Lamessa Hata’u (@LamessaH) June 27, 2022

On Monday, Ethiopia denied Sudan's accusation that its army had captured and executed seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian, instead blaming the killings on a local militia.

Sudanese government sources said Sudan had filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Security Council over the killings.

Sudan's army fired long-distance artillery from Monday morning until Tuesday afternoon, but nobody was injured, said Assefa Ashege, a senior security official in Ethiopia's Amhara region.

Two local residents said the Sudanese army had gained control of Jabal Kala al-Laban and had destroyed a military base there. It was unclear if the base belonged to the Ethiopian army or an allied militia.

A Sudanese military spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Ethiopia's government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ethiopian military officials referred Reuters to a statement issued on Monday that described a previous border clash, but did not comment on the reported shelling.

In a statement, Sudan's military disputed what it said were reports of movements and the taking of prisoners.

The quarrel over al-Fashqa, which lies within Sudan's international boundaries but has been settled by Ethiopian farmers for decades, has escalated in recent years alongside a diplomatic spat over Ethiopia's construction of a hydropower dam.