The Sudanese army confirmed on Sunday that it repelled an attack by Ethiopian forces and allied armed groups in the border region of Fashaga, inflicting "significant losses in lives and equipment." The Sudanese army also reported the deaths of 6 of its personnel in Fashaga, bringing the total number of fatalities to 90 since the beginning of recent events along the border with Ethiopia.
In a statement, the Sudanese army said: "Our forces, which are securing the harvest in Fashaga al-Sughra in the Baraka Noreen area, were subjected to an assault and attack by groups from the Ethiopian army and militias aimed at terrorizing farmers, sabotaging the harvest season, and infiltrating our lands." It added, "Our forces bravely repelled the attack, inflicting heavy losses on them in lives and equipment."
Earlier in the day, the newspaper "Sudan Tribune" quoted senior military sources indicating that the Sudanese army responded to the incursion of Ethiopian forces and Amhara militias into Sudanese territory east of Baraka Noreen, near the settlement of Melkawa, which is located 17 kilometers deep into Sudan. The clashes, which involved heavy weaponry, continued until Saturday afternoon.
This comes amid ongoing battles between the Sudanese army and Ethiopian forces, along with supportive groups, since the army's announcement of its deployment in Fashaga territories in November 2020.
The disputed borderlands between Sudan and Ethiopia are divided into three areas: Fashaga al-Sughra, Fashaga al-Kubra, and the southern regions, covering an area of about two million acres and located between three rivers: Setit, Atbara, and Basilam, making it highly fertile. Fashaga extends for 168 kilometers along the Ethiopian border out of a total border distance of approximately 265 kilometers for the Gedaref state with Ethiopia.
Sudan has regained 92% of these fertile lands as a result of military operations, for the first time in 25 years after the Sudanese army's withdrawal from them. Previously, Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan pledged that his country would reclaim 7 border sites with Ethiopia through diplomacy rather than force.
