Sudan says exercising restraint amid tension with Ethiopia

ISTANBUL (AA) – Sudan said Wednesday it exercises self-restraint amid tension with Ethiopia over the killing of seven Sudanese soldiers.

"The government's duty is to defend its territory and citizens,” Foreign Ministry undersecretary Dafallah Al-Hajj Ali said in a statement carried by the state news agency SUNA.

“Sudan is exercising restraint to prevent an escalation with Ethiopia,” he added.

The Sudanese diplomat met on Tuesday with UK Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Robert Fairweather, during which Al-Hajj Ali explained developments in the disputed Al-Fashqa border area.

"Ethiopian forces entered Sudanese territory and kidnapped seven soldiers and a civilian, executed them and mutilated their bodies," Al-Hajj Ali said.

“The Ethiopian practices don’t comply with international conventions and norms and the nature of the relationship between the two countries," he added.

For his part, Fairweather was quoted by SUNA as saying that “it’s not in the interest of the two countries to escalate the situation," hailing "Sudan's stance and its exercise of restraint to prevent an escalation."

On Sunday, the Sudanese army accused Ethiopia of executing seven soldiers and a citizen.

Ethiopia, for its part, said it’s ready to co-investigate the incident with Sudan, voicing hope that the Sudanese government would distance itself from any escalation.

Tension escalated between Sudan and Ethiopia in recent months over the al-Fashaqa Triangle, a decades-long disputed border area lacking definite demarcation.

While Khartoum said on Dec. 31, 2020, that it imposed its control over the Sudanese territory where Ethiopian militias were present, Addis Ababa accuses Sudan's military of occupying Ethiopian territory, as well, a claim its northern neighbor denies.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat