Sudan and Ethiopia have a decades-old dispute over the territory of Al-FashaqaAddis Ababa (AFP) – The head of the African Union Commission voiced concern on Wednesday over "escalating military tension" between Ethiopia and Sudan, calling for restraint and dialogue. Sudan accused Ethiopia of capturing the soldiers on June 22 in Al-Fashaqa, a fertile strip at the centre of a bitter border dispute between the two neighbours. Relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa have soured over Al-Fashaqa, which is close to Ethiopia's restive Tigray region. Al-Fashaqa has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but claimed by Sudan, and the dispute has sparked sporadic clashes between the Sudanese and Ethiopian sides, some fatal. The rift over Al-Fashaqa feeds into wider tensions over land and water between the neighbours, particularly stoked by Ethiopia's mega dam on the Blue Nile.

Source: Ethiopian News June 29, 2022 10:59 UTC