The situation on the border could see forces from across the region confronting each other – with Egypt and Sudan on one side and Ethiopia, Eritrea and Amhara militia on the other.

This is what we know. But if you want the history of the al-Fashaga dispute you can find it in this background report.

First: Today there has been a reported clash between Ethiopian and Sudanese militia in the disputed al-Fashaga triangle.

Second: came this report from Bloomberg quoting the UN as saying that Eritrean forces had crossed into al-Fashaga.

Eritrean forces are present inside disputed territory that straddles the border between Ethiopia and Sudan, according to the United Nations.

The deployment in the so-called al-Fashqa triangle comes amid escalating tensions between Ethiopia and and Sudan, according to the United Nations. The deployment in the so-called al-Fashqa triangle comes amid escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan over control of the area of fertile farming land.

“The conflict along the border between Sudan and Ethiopia remains active, with Sudanese Armed Forces and Ethiopian — including Amhara militias — and Eritrean forces deployed around Barkhat settlement in Greater Fashaga and clashes reported since early March,” the UN said Tuesday in its latest situation report on Ethiopia.

Third: Just three weeks ago, Egypt and Sudan signed a new joint security pact.

Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid signed the treaty in Khartoum on 2nd March.

General Farid stressed that Egypt “seeks to consolidate ties and relations with Sudan in all fields, especially military and security fields,” adding that “solidarity is a strategic approach imposed by the regional and international environment.”

Warnings of war

These developments came as the Washington Post ran a story headlined: “A border war looms between Sudan and Ethiopia as Tigray conflict sends ripples through region”

The article argued: “Ethiopia’s sudden descent into civil war in its Tigray region has upended a delicate web of regional political equations, sending ripple effects across this corner of Africa, and bringing Ethiopia and Sudan to the brink of a territorial war over this disputed area, known as al-Fashaga. Military and government officials on both sides, as well as independent analysts, said they worry such a war would quickly escalate into a much broader regional conflict….”

“On a recent trip with Sudanese forces to the front line, a major deployment of military and paramilitary troops was visibly underway. Through binoculars, Sudanese officers eyed Ethiopian settlements and fortifications in parts of al-Fashaga they had not yet retaken…”

“Sudan retook most of al-Fashaga after Ethiopian soldiers and Amhara militias were deployed to fight in Tigray. ‘Up until the war in Tigray began, the situation was essentially an Amhara occupation of al-Fashaga,’ said Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Gabir, one of 11 members of Sudan’s so-called sovereign council that presides over government decisions.

“As they became occupied with the war in November, we were able to retake the area with fewer casualties. But recently the Amhara militias came back and killed so many of our people, robbed so many,” he said. “Ethiopia is not controlling these militias, so of course we see it as supporting them. We do not want to be drawn into a reckless war…

Abiy’s increasing reliance on Amhara support for the war in Tigray is a fundamental driver of conflict in al-Fashaga, analysts said.”

It is worth recalling that when the Tigray war began in November 2020 Prime Minister Abiy denied that it was any such thing. Instead, as he told Ethiopians in a Tweet, the fighting was a “law enforcement operation” that would “wrap up soon”.

Five months later the situation looks rather different, with Abiy accepting that he is engaged in a war in Tigray. “We know the destruction this war has caused,” he said.

(see the Al-Jazeera report below.)

PM Abiy tweet 9 Nov

Source: Al Jazeera

Ethiopia PM admits Eritrean soldiers entered Tigray region

Abiy Ahmed acknowledges ‘atrocities committed’ during the conflict in the northern region amid concerns over the humanitarian crisis.

23 Mar 2021

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has admitted for the first time that troops from neighbouring Eritrea entered the northern region of Tigray during the conflict that broke out five months ago, suggesting they may have been involved in abuses against civilians.

The admission on Tuesday comes after months of denials from Ethiopia and Eritrea, even as credible accusations from rights groups and residents mounted that Eritrean soldiers have carried out massacres in Tigray following the start of the Ethiopian government’s offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), then the region’s governing party.

In a wide-ranging speech to parliament, Abiy said on Tuesday Eritrean troops had crossed the border and entered the region because they were concerned they would be attacked by the longtime foe – the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for decades until Abiy came to power in 2018, had presided over a brutal 1998-2000 war with Eritrea.

Abiy said Eritreans had promised to leave when Ethiopia’s military was able to control the border.

He added that the “Eritrean people and government did a lasting favour to our soldiers”, during the conflict, without giving more details.

“However, after the Eritrean army crossed the border and was operating in Ethiopia, any damage it did to our people was unacceptable,” he said.

“We don’t accept it because it is the Eritrean army, and we would not accept it if it were our soldiers. The military campaign was against our clearly targeted enemies, not against the people. We have discussed this four or five times with the Eritrean government.”

The comments also marked the first time Abiy appeared to acknowledge that serious crimes have taken place in Tigray, home to six million people.

“Reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in Tigray region,” Abiy said.

War is “a nasty thing”, he added, speaking the local Amharic language. “We know the destruction this war has caused.”

After months of tension, fighting erupted in Tigray after forces loyal to the TPLF – whose leaders challenged Abiy’s legitimacy after the postponement of elections last year – attacked army bases across the region overnight and in the early hours of November 4.

The attacks initially overwhelmed the federal military, which later launched a counteroffensive alongside Eritrean soldiers and forces from the neighbouring region of Amhara. The federal army is now hunting the fugitive TPLF leadership.

Abiy said soldiers who raped women or committed other war crimes will be held responsible, even though he cited “propaganda of exaggeration”.

He spoke as concerns continue to grow over the humanitarian situation in the embattled region.

Abiy accused the TPLF’s leaders of drumming “a war narrative” while the area faced challenges such as a destructive invasion of locusts and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This was misplaced and untimely arrogance,” he said.

The Ethiopian prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to make peace with Eritrea, faces pressure to end the conflict in Tigray as well as to institute an international investigation into alleged war crimes.

The government’s critics say a continuing federal inquiry is not enough because the government cannot effectively investigate itself.

On Monday, the heads of nine UN agencies and other officials demanded a halt to attacks against civilians in Tigray, “including rape and other horrific forms of sexual violence”.

In a joint statement, the UN agencies, the UN special investigator on the human rights of internally displaced people, and two umbrella organisations representing NGOs also called on all parties in Tigray to explicitly condemn all sexual violence and ensure their forces “respect and protect civilian populations, particularly women and children, from all human rights abuses”.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Monday the conflict continues to drive massive displacement, with tens of thousands of people arriving into Shire, Axum and Adwa, most fleeing fighting in western Tigray in the last few weeks.

There are also reports of people uprooted by violence in the northwest and central areas, he said.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch reported that Eritrean forces shot dead hundreds of children and civilians in a November massacre in Tigray.

An Amnesty International investigation into the same events detailed how Eritrean troops “went on a rampage and systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined calls for the Eritrean troops to leave Tigray while the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, urged an investigation into the situation.