An Ethiopian official reported that armed forces from Sudan used heavy artillery during hostilities in a disputed eastern region that borders Ethiopia. This is the latest shot in a protracted conflict over their shared border.
According to a Sudanese military source who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the media, Sudan was able to conquer Jabal Kala al-Laban, a region close to the disputed border, on Tuesday as a result of an artillery bombardment and an air attack.
Ethiopia denied on Monday that its troops had arrested and killed seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian and blamed a local militia for the killings.
According to sources in the government of Sudan, Sudan has officially complained about the killings to the UN Security Council.
According to Assefa Ashege, a top security officer in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the Sudanese army fired long-range artillery from Monday morning until Tuesday afternoon, but no one was hurt.
According to two locals, the Sudanese army had taken over Jabal Kala al-Laban and demolished a military outpost there. Uncertainty existed about whether the base belonged to the Ethiopian army or a militia ally.
Requests for comment from a military spokeswoman in Sudan went unanswered. Legesse Tulu, a representative for the Ethiopian government, did not immediately reply to calls for comment.
Military representatives from Ethiopia pointed media to a statement released Monday that recounted a prior border altercation but made no more comments regarding the alleged shelling.
‘No Prisoners Taken’
The military of Sudan denied rumors of movements and the abduction of prisoners in a statement.
In recent years, the dispute over al-Fashqa, which is inside Sudan’s international borders but has long been populated by Ethiopian farmers, has intensified alongside a diplomatic row over Ethiopia’s building of a hydropower dam
