(RepublicanInformer.com)- Another clash at the border between Ethiopia and Sudan has resulted in the death of at least 20 troops on the Sudanese side.
On Saturday, many Sudanese soldiers were ambushed as they traveled across the Atbara River. Bloomberg reported that the troops were bombarded, according to one of the members of Sudan’s border commission located in the Gadaref state, Alrasheed Ali.
On Sunday, Ali said to Bloomberg that “the situation is very tense,” with forces on the Sudanese side gathering on the riverbank. While Ali reported the Sudanese troop deaths, he didn’t report anything about possible fatalities on the Ethiopian side.
On Saturday, the Sudan army said in a statement that it delivered “heavy losses of life” against militias and troops from Ethiopia who conducted an assault on them. During that attack, the army for Sudan also suffered fatalities, though they didn’t disclose the exact number of people who died.
Conflict in the al-Fashqa region between Sudan and Ethiopia has been going on for more than a year now. The region crosses into both countries, where sorghum and cotton are produced at high rates.
As the conflict has been simmering between these two countries, the area is now being considered as a “potentially explosive area,” as media outlet The Hill recently reported.
The issue at hand is Ethiopia’s intentions to construct and fill an enormous hydroelectric dam on the main side stream of the Nile River, Bloomberg reported, and Sudan is not happy about that.
In addition to the conflicts the two countries are having with each other, they are also experiencing conflicts internally as well — which is only exacerbating the situation.
In Ethiopia, the government is battling with rebels from Tigray. The fighting between them has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, and has also focused many thousands more to flee their homes.
Over in Sudan, the military conducted a coup just last month, which included ousting the prime minister. It was a setback for hopes of democratic elections in the country, as the joint military-government agreement seemingly dissipated overnight.
A few weeks after the coup, the military eventually agreed that they would reinstate the prime minister who was ousted. This came after pressure was put on the Sudanese military from many major international forces.
The fighting between Sudan and Ethiopia — as well as the in-fighting that’s happening in each country — are just a few examples of why the United States is concerned about “growing extremism and authoritarianism in Africa.”
In a speech he gave on November 19, Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, warned that the entire continent is experiencing struggles related to violence, police brutality and various coups.
It’s certainly a situation that the United States and many other major foreign powers have their eyes on and will continue to monitor. While this may seem like a local issue for now, it’s something that many are worried could explode into a much bigger international problem.
