The disputed Sudan-Ethiopia border area witnessed a rapid rise in tension in recent days as Khartoum launched a large-scale attack on positions controlled by the Ethiopian Army after accusing it of capturing, executing and publicly displaying the bodies of seven of its soldiers and one civilian in late June — a claim the latter has denied.
The deteriorating situation in the turbulent Al Fashaga region came at a time when the popularity of the generals in Sudan is at a low ebb following last October’s military coup and ahead of a new round of massive protests launched June 30. It also comes shortly before Addis Ababa begins the third filling of the massive Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) it is finalizing on the Nile, which is one of the main elements of friction between the two countries.
