Ethiopian militias raid Sudan border villages: Farmers, activists - Africa
For decades, both Ethiopia and its neighbour Sudan have claimed the fertile border region of Al-Fashaga, and in recent days, several villages in the contested area have come under attack.
Farmers told AFP that militias entered villages along the border, opened fire with automatic weapons, and looted livestock and farming equipment before retreating into Ethiopian territory.
"They attacked us yesterday (Sunday) while we were working in the fields," said a 29-year-old farmer from Wad Kouli, a village about 11 kilometres (seven miles) from the Ethiopian border.
"They surrounded the village, opened fire and stole cattle and tractors at gunpoint," the farmer told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Just north, in Wad Aroud, farmers rushed home from their fields at the sound of gunfire, "fearing for our families", said a 32-year-old farmer.
"When we arrived, we found the (fighters) had looted cows and sheep from the village" before fleeing towards the border.
The local resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer civilian groups coordinating aid across Sudan, said Monday that three villages across Gedaref state had "witnessed repeated and dangerous violations" by Ethiopian militias.
No casualties were immediately reported from the attacks on Wad Kouli, Wad Aroud and Barakat Nourain.
But the volunteer group said the attacks were "devastating for food security and the livelihoods of people in the region".
Residents told AFP they were now unable to work their fields during the crucial sowing season, which coincides with the rainy season from July to September.
Cross-border clashes are common in the area, with Sudanese villagers often reporting armed incursions coinciding with the agricultural season.
Sudan, battered by a war between the army and paramilitary forces since April 2023, has faced the world's largest hunger crisis, with nearly 25 million people suffering dire food insecurity.
Gedaref state, where Al-Fashaga is located, is an important breadbasket for resource-rich Sudan, but also home to an estimated million people suffering acute hunger, according to UN figures.
The disputed Al-Fashaga is adjacent to Ethiopia's conflict-ridden Tigray region, where a bloody war between rebels and federal forces since 2020 has killed at least 600,000 people.
Over the years, tens of thousands of refugees and farmers from Ethiopia have crossed the porous border into Sudan.
The Sudanese government in 2020 sent forces to secure the area, expelling thousands of farmers and recapturing territory.
Follow us on:
Short link:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
an hour ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
One killed, 18 wounded in Israeli strikes on Damascus - Region
Syria's health ministry said a series of Israeli strikes on the army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another 18. AFP correspondents said the strikes destroyed part of a four-storey building adjacent to the defence ministry, while the city's usually bustling Umayyad Square nearby was empty except for ambulances and military vehicles. Israel's army said it struck a "military target" in the area of Syria's presidential palace in Damascus, after earlier announcing it had hit the military headquarters in the capital. The Israeli military "continues to strike military targets belonging to the Syrian regime in Damascus", an army statement said. Witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion in the area of the palace, a high-security compound which is located on a hill overlooking the capital and is where interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives visitors. A 51-year-old Damascus resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation, said she was on her balcony trying to see the aftermath of the strikes near the army headquarters when she "heard an explosion and saw smoke rising near the presidential palace". Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
New Israeli strikes near Syrian army headquarters: State TV - Region
The Israeli army launched a new round of strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters on Wednesday, state-run television said, after Israel warned Damascus against targeting the Druze community. Syrian government forces had deployed in Sweida city in the country's south on Tuesday, clashing with Druze fighters who previously controlled the area. State television reported on Wednesday afternoon "a new aggression by the Israeli occupation air force in Umayyad Square, near the (military) headquarters building in central Damascus". A live broadcast by the Qatari channel Al Jazeera showed a series of air strikes on the headquarters, with smoke billowing into the sky and parts of the building damaged. State television had reported an earlier strike near the headquarters, which Israel's military said it had attacked. The Syrian health ministry said in a preliminary toll that the strikes wounded nine people. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned on Wednesday that his country would start launching major attacks against Syria. "The signals to Damascus are over -- now come the painful blows," he said. The Israeli military would "operate forcefully" in Syria's southern Sweida region "to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal", he added. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Parish confirms Palace will appeal over Europa League demotion - World
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has confirmed his club will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being demoted from the Europa League. Palace qualified for the Europa League with a shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May. But UEFA, European football's governing body, ruled Palace should drop down to the Conference League over a conflict of interest involving the club's former director John Textor, who also part-owns French side Lyon. Textor stepped away from Palace at the start of July, but the ownership issue relates to the end of last season when the south London team secured a maiden European appearance by winning the first major trophy in their history. UEFA's ruling would mean Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, take Palace's place in the Europa League, but Parish has signalled his intent to contest the decision. "We are still fighting," Parish told the The Rest is Football podcast. "There's an appeal process, so we go to CAS which is the court for arbitration and, you know, we're very hopeful. We think we've got great legal arguments. "We don't think this is the right decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John didn't have decisive influence over the club. "We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it's a fact." UEFA rules say that no owner or co-owner can have a controlling interest in more than one club competing in the same European competition during the same season. Palace's position throughout has been that Textor did not have a sufficiently controlling role for the club to fall foul of the regulations. But the deadline for shareholders to divest their interest in a club, or in some other way to alter their ownership structure, in order to comply with the regulations was March 1. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
