People collect water in a refugee camp in Um Rakuba, Sudan, on January 8.
Photographer: Abdulmonam Eassa / Getty Images
Photographer: Abdulmonam Eassa / Getty Images
Ethiopia has transported heavy weapons to disputed territory on its border with Sudan, according to people familiar with the matter.
The military surge in an area known as the al-Fashqa triangle signals growing tensions after deadly clashes in recent weeks have sparked international concern. Sudanese officials met with Saudi officials in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis, after the United Kingdom last week called for a reduction in tensions.
The Ethiopian army has deployed weapons, including tanks and anti-aircraft batteries in the border region over the past two weeks, said two foreign diplomats who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesman Billene Seyoum forwarded a request for comment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Redwan Hussein, a spokesman for the government’s emergency task force, did not respond to a request for comment sent by text message.
The Ethiopian government earlier this month accused the Sudanese military of carrying out organized attacks with machine guns and armored trains on its border. These attacks killed “many civilians,” according to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tensions between the two nations have increased since the start of the conflict in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on 4 November. Regional analysts and diplomats said Abiy was under pressure from powerful Amhara politicians in his government, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen to step back in the border dispute.
The state of Amhara, whose fighters supported the Ethiopian federal army’s incursion into Tigray, claims ownership of parts of al-Fashqa, including areas that are within Sudanese territory. Historically, Khartoum has allowed Amhara farmers to conduct business and live in the fertile area, as long as they pay taxes and operate under Sudanese laws. In turn, Ethiopia recognized the land as Sudanese.
Demeke spokeswoman Dina Mufti did not answer two calls to her cell phone seeking comment.
The border dispute is stressing relations already weakened by an impasse around a giant hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building on the main tributary of the Nile River. Sudan and Egypt depend on the flow of the river to obtain fresh water, and both countries want Ethiopia to agree to the rules for filling and operating the reservoir to ensure supply.
Sudan says the border area around al-Fashqa was demarcated under colonial-era treaties dating back to 1902, placing the land firmly within its international borders.
Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, a member of Sudan’s transitional government, said on Wednesday that he sought political support from Saudi Arabia in talks he held in Riyadh, the Sudanese state news agency SUNA said. Any outbreak of war could affect security across the region, including the Red Sea, he said.