Sudan announced today, Saturday, the sending of large military reinforcements to the border with Ethiopia, in order to "regain its usurped lands" in the state of Gedaref (east of the country), according to the official news agency.
The agency said that "the Sudanese armed forces continued their advance on the front lines inside the Al-Fashaqa area to return the lands usurped from the Ethiopian militia, and to establish themselves on international lines in accordance with the 1902 Agreement."
And the 1902 agreement signed on May 15 of the same year in Addis Ababa between Ethiopia and Britain (on behalf of Sudan), and its first article clarifies the international borders between the two countries.
The Sudanese agency added that the armed forces sent large military reinforcements to the front lines in the border strip with Ethiopia, without specifying the nature and quality of these reinforcements.
This comes 3 days after the army announced the loss of lives and equipment, as its forces were attacked by an Ethiopian militia in lands near the "Al-Fashaqa" area, while Ethiopia did not officially comment on the incident.
Local media reported, according to unnamed military sources, that 4 Sudanese soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded, following fierce battles with armed Ethiopian militias on the border strip between the two countries.
Addis Baba played down the importance of the ambush that the Sudanese soldiers were subjected to, and its Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, on Thursday emphasized the strength of the "historical" relations between the two countries.
This is not the first incident, as this disputed area between Khartoum and Addis Ababa usually witnesses violent incidents between farmers from both sides, especially in the rainy season.
Ethiopian gangs seize the lands of Sudanese farmers in "Al-Fashaqa" after they were expelled from it by force of arms. Khartoum accuses the Ethiopian army of supporting these gangs, but Addis Ababa always denies this.
After an absence that lasted about 25 years, the Sudanese army, on the 30th of last March, redeployed in the aforementioned region.
Last November, the Transitional Sovereignty Council confirmed not to forfeit any inch of Sudanese territory, according to the official agency.
The Prime Minister - Abdullah Hamdok - discussed by phone with his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, last May, demarcating the borders and forming a technical committee to complete the demarcation, but to this day the formation of this committee has not been announced.