Skirmish along Ethiopia-Sudan border won't break historic ties: PM

Addis Ababa, Dec 20 (IANS) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said recent border skirmishes along the Ethiopia-Sudan border areas "will not break" the historic ties between the two neighbouring countries."The government is closely following the incident with local militia on the Ethio-Sudan border," Xinhua news agency quoted Ahmed as saying in a Twitter post on Saturday.He emphasized that "such incidents will not break the bond between our two countries as we always use dialogue to resolve issues"."Those fanning discord clearly do not understand the strength of our historical ties," he added.On Wednesday, the Sudanese army said Ethiopian militias attacked its forces on the border between the two countries."On Tuesday evening when our forces were about to finish combing the area around Jebel Abu Tiour inside our territories and return, they were ambushed by the Ethiopian militias," said the Sudanese army in a statement."There were losses in lives and equipment," the army added.The border area between Sudan and Ethiopia often witnesses armed clashes by militias during the preparation for agricultural season.
--IANS ksk/