Tensions between the two countries have risen for decades over the disputed Al-Fashqa region, which falls on the Sudanese side of their disputed border. On Wednesday, the situation escalated further after the Sudanese accused Ethiopian military planes of violating Sudan’s airspace.
On a visit to the eastern state of Gedaref, where Al-Fashqa is located, the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) and the General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan addressed soldiers at the border.
“We are all steadfast here until our justice is proven by force, in good faith or otherwise. This is our country and we have a legitimate right to defend and protect it by any means available,” he said.
A video posted on the TSC Facebook page of Burhan’s comments showed him telling them Sudan would not shy away from a military confrontation.
‘How long should we be patient? Everything has a limit and this situation has exceeded its limits. This is our country and we are all ready to die here for this country, until the last man remains. ‘
“How long will Ethiopia continue to solve the problem through diplomacy? Well, there is nothing that has no limit. Everything has a limit,” Mufti said.
The Ethiopian government has not responded to CNN’s request for comment. An Ethiopian military spokesman told AFP news agency that he had no “tangible information” about Sudan’s allegations and that the situation at the border on Wednesday was “normal.”
More than 80 civilians were killed in an attack along the border on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) told CNN.
“From the information we have received, it appears that more than 80 civilians were massacred in the Metekel Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz in an early morning attack,” said Aaron Maasho.
The EHRC, which describes itself as an “independent national” institution, is still collecting details and has not said who committed the attack.
“These kinds of horrific incidents have been happening for far too long. There is no other option but for the federal and regional authorities to reinforce the security presence in the area and strengthen coordination between them – a call from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. Again,” Maasho added. to it.
The Ethiopian government has been campaigning since November in the Tigray region, which borders Sudan. Civil society organizations in Sudan told CNN they feared escalating tensions between the two countries would only further break the region.