On the sidelines of the conflict in Tigray, the Sudanese army retakes part of the el-Fashaga triangle

The tiangle of el-Fashaga covers 250 km2. This fertile area represents thousands of hectares of cultivable land. A crucial economic and food issue for the inhabitants.

Claimed by Sudan and Ethiopia, the region is known for its violence and trafficking. However, for several weeks, the Ethiopian soldiers deployed in the area left to reinforce the troops in Tigray.

The Sudanese army would therefore have benefited from the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops. According to several sources, the soldiers of Khartoum would have thus taken over the sectors of Kurdia, Jebel Tayara and even Khor Yabis, which had been occupied by the Ethiopians for 25 years. A Sudanese local committee then spoke of a “restoration of Sudanese sovereignty”.

Many forces present
The border around the el-Fashaga triangle has never been clearly demarcated since decolonization. The area has therefore always been a source of tension. The Sudanese and Ethiopian armies have a presence there and even directly clashed in May. A joint committee was then created to avoid a bloodbath. But the meetings failed to resolve the border issue.

In addition, there is trafficking, in particular arms, and the presence of Ethiopian militiamen called Shifta who serve as auxiliaries to the ENDF. They regularly engage in raids, kidnappings and murders. But with the conflict in Tigray, Sudanese forces seem to be gaining the upper hand in the area. A week ago, they even arrested Halka Asar, a powerful Ethiopian militia leader suspected of numerous attacks in the area.