Sudan, Ethiopia Trade Accusations in Escalating Border Conflict

Ethiopians who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Ethiopians who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
TT
20

Sudan, Ethiopia Trade Accusations in Escalating Border Conflict

Ethiopians who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Ethiopians who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan. (Reuters file photo)

Sudan on Saturday accused Ethiopia of an "unforgivable insult" in its sharpest statement since a decades-old border dispute flared late last year.

Clashes erupted between Sudanese and Ethiopian forces over Al-Fashqa, an area of fertile land settled by Ethiopian farmers that Sudan says lies on its side of a border demarcated at the start of the 20th century, which Ethiopia rejects.

In a statement on Thursday, Ethiopia's foreign ministry said it believes "the conflict being trumpeted by the Sudanese government's military wing could only serve the interests of a third party at the expense of the Sudanese people."

Sudan's foreign ministry responded on Saturday by saying "slander towards Sudan and accusation of being an agent for other parties is a grave and unforgivable insult."

"What the Ethiopian foreign ministry cannot deny is the third party whose troops entered with Ethiopian troops trespassing on Sudanese land."

Earlier this week, Sudan accused Ethiopian troops of crossing the border after a similar act by Ethiopian aircraft last month, both of which Ethiopia denied, Reuters reported.

Ethiopia on Thursday reiterated its accusation that Sudan had invaded in early November, attacked and displaced Ethiopians and took control of vacated military camps.

In its statement, Sudan said that Ethiopia had affirmed the 1903 border agreement several times, most recently in 2013.

It accused Ethiopia's foreign ministry of "exploiting (the border issue) for personal interests and for the specific interests of a certain group."

Both countries called on each other to pursue legal means to resolve the border issues.

An African Union mediator arrived in Khartoum on Thursday to discuss the conflict, as well as the ongoing negotiations between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.



Days of Monsoon Rains and Flash Floods Kill at Least 72 in Pakistan

Children playing in the water after a heavy rain in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Children playing in the water after a heavy rain in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
TT
20

Days of Monsoon Rains and Flash Floods Kill at Least 72 in Pakistan

Children playing in the water after a heavy rain in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Children playing in the water after a heavy rain in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Ten days of heavy monsoon rains and flash floods across Pakistan killed at least 72 people and injured more than 130, the National Disaster Management Authority and local officials said Monday.

The fatalities, since June 26, were reported in several provinces: the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eastern Punjab, southern Sindh and southwestern Balochistan provinces, The Associated Press reported.

The National Disaster Management Authority urged local officials to remain on high alert and advised tourists to avoid visiting affected areas, as more rains could block highways and trigger flash floods.

Emergency services have been on maximum alert since last month after 17 tourists from the same family were swept away by the Swat River in the northwest. Four were rescued and the bodies of the other 13 were later recovered. Videos circulating online of the family, stranded on a rooftop and pleading for help, sparked outrage and accusations of slow response by emergency crews.

Authorities have warned they cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the 2022 devastating floods when rains at one point inundated a third of the country, killing 1,737 people.