By Adel Abdul Rahim
KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudan on Saturday closed border with neighboring Eritrea, one week after Khartoum announced a state of emergency in the region of Kassala.
The move came shortly after the Kassala governor, Adam Jamaa, denied reports about the deployment of troops for disarmament campaigns in the region.
The official SUNA news agency said Jamaa "issued a decision to close all border crossings with Eritrea, based on a presidential decree to declare state of emergency in Kassala”.
The decision was effective as of January 5, 2018, the agency said.
On Friday, the Kassala governor had denied reports about the closure of border between the two countries.
Local media earlier claimed that Egyptian military forces and rebel groups from war-torn Darfur province had been deployed along Eritrean border.
On Monday, the Sudanese parliament will convene to discuss a presidential decree to declare a six-month state of emergency in Kassala and North Kordofan region.