Khartoum takes umpteenth border dispute with Addis Ababa to the UN Security Council

Sudan denounces execution of seven soldiers by Ethiopian forces

photo_camera PHOTO/ARCHIVO - President of Sudan's Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

The Sudanese armed forces on Sunday denounced the execution of seven soldiers and a Sudanese civilian by Ethiopian forces. Khartoum said it had taken the case against Addis Ababa to the UN Security Council, but the Ethiopian authorities have flatly denied that such an incident took place, according to Reuters, although there was no direct response from Ethiopia. The accusation, however, has heightened border tensions between the two countries, which are fighting over the Al-Fashaga strip.

"The ministry proceeded to lodge a formal complaint with the Security Council and relevant international and regional organisations," the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Sudanese government said Monday that the eight people allegedly executed by the Ethiopian army had been captured on Sudanese soil on 22 June and subsequently taken to Ethiopia.

"In an act contrary to all laws and customs of war and international humanitarian law, the Ethiopian army executed seven Sudanese soldiers and one citizen who were prisoners of war," the Sudanese statement said. Khartoum denounced the Ethiopian military for exposing the bodies of the victims, calling the act "cowardly" and vowing that "this treacherous act will not go unanswered".

The President of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, visited the Al-Fashaga region on Monday to offer his condolences to the military deployed on the ground, according to EFE sources.

Sudan has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations in condemnation of what happened, fuelling bilateral tensions that began in November 2020 as a result of the war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Since then, Sudan has been hosting Ethiopian refugees fleeing the war.

The executions have not been the first head-on clash between the two countries. At the end of 2021, Sudan made public that six of its troops had been killed in an attack by Ethiopian militias in Al-Fashaga, the focus of the dispute. For its part, Ethiopia accuses the Sudanese armed forces of having occupied nine camps inside Ethiopian territory, a fact that the Sudanese authorities deny. Khartoum and Addis Ababa have seen tensions escalate in recent months.

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