Sudanese Forces Enter Areas Off Tigray for 1st Time in 25 Years

Sudanese forces entered areas off Tigray region controlled by an Ethiopian militia, according to Al-Arabiya sources on Friday.

The Dubai-based TV reported that Sudanese forces had regained control of agricultural areas bordering Ethiopia for the first time in 25 years.

Thus, half of the area that was under the control of the Ethiopian "Shifta" militia, which enjoys official support, would have been left.

It is noteworthy that a border dispute erupted between Ethiopia and Sudan on the eastern borders of the latter, specifically in the "Al-Fushaqa" region of the Sudanese state of Al-Qadarif, adjacent to the Ethiopian Amhara region.

This conflict was not the first, but timing, reactions, and specifically the response of the Sudanese army, shed light on that crisis, which is among the colonial legacies of most African countries.

Al-Fushaqa stretches along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border for a distance of 168 km and is located on an area of ​​5,700 square kilometers. It is pided into three regions: The Great Fushaqa, The Little Fushaqa and the Southern Region.

[caption id="attachment_182245" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Ethiopian Military Forces[/caption]

Ethiopian farmers have been infiltrating these lands since the 1950s, which has led to repeated calls to demarcate the borders in that region.

In 1995, an agreement between the two countries stipulated that the border area would be free of regular armies, so military control was distributed over the Sudanese Popular Defense Brigades and the "Shifta" militia on the opposite side, meaning that no Ethiopian army was present in the border area.

The absence of the army in the area contributed to the entry of farmers into confrontations with the Popular Defense Brigades repeatedly and seasonally until the army had recently redeployed, which led to confrontations with the Sudanese army.

These attacks this year constitute a breach of an agreement reached last year.

The history of the crisis in that region dates back to 1957, when Ethiopia imposed control over it through the infiltration of Ethiopian farmers to work in a primitive way. As result of the people accepting their presence, they returned the following year with modern agricultural machinery.

In 2017, an agreement was announced to demarcate the borders between the two sides, with the exception of the "Fushaqa" area, which they said is still being negotiated.

In August 2018, the two sides agreed to deploy joint forces on the border between the two countries to prevent tensions between the two countries.

[caption id="attachment_182247" align="aligncenter" width="863"] Sudanese Army- File Photo[/caption]