KHARTOUM, Jan 13 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian military aircraft crossed the Sudanese-Ethiopian border in a "dangerous and unjustified escalation", Sudan's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Ethiopia warns Sudan against igniting war at disputed border region Wednesday, 13 January 2021 6:58 AM
[ Last Update: Wednesday, 13 January 2021 10:06 AM ] Ethiopian refugees arrive at the Tenedba camp in Mafaza, in eastern Sudan, on January 8, 2021. (Photo by AFP)
Ethiopia has accused Sudan of a military build-up in a contested border region, warning that a military confrontation could be imminent as its “peaceful” approach to the decades-old dispute “has its limit.”
Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said on Tuesday that Sudanese forces continued to push further into al-Fashqa area.
“The Sudanese side seems to be pushing in so as to inflame the situation on the ground,” Mufti said. “Is Ethiopia going to start a war? Well, we are saying let’s work on diplomacy.”
Sudan says an Ethiopian military aircraft entered its airspace in “a dangerous escalation” to a border dispute that has seen deadly clashes in recent weeks.
“In a dangerous and unjustified escalation, an Ethiopian military aircraft penetrated the Sudanese-Ethiopian borders,” Sudan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the move “could have dangerous ramifications and cause more tension in the border region”.
The ministry also warned Ethiopia against repeating “such hostilities”.
An Ethiopian military spokesman, General Mohamed Tessema, told the AFP news agency he had no “tangible information” on Sudan’s allegations and the situation at the border was “normal” on Wednesday.
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