Sudanese paramilitary forces announced yesterday, Tuesday, that they had attacked a town bordering Ethiopia, while a source within the regular army told Agence France-Presse that the attack was carried out “from within Ethiopian territory.”
For months now, the Sudanese government, which is aligned with the military, has been accusing its opponents—the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of launching attacks from within Ethiopian territory.
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Authorities in Gaisan, in Blue Nile State, reported that the RSF, which has allied with factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (MPLS-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, attacked the town and surrounding farms yesterday morning.
“Our forces confronted them and inflicted heavy losses on them,” said an AFP source in the military on the condition of anonymity, as he does not have permission from his superiors to speak to the media. Ethiopian authorities have not yet responded.
In a statement, the self-proclaimed alternative government of the SPLM, based in Darfur, on the other side of the country, asserted that its forces “liberated the strategically important city of Gaishan,” inflicting “heavy losses” on the army.
Agence France-Presse notes that it was unable to independently verify these claims.
The Blue Nile state has become a key front in the war that has been raging in Sudan since April 2023. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are conducting ground attacks and launching drone strikes, challenging the army’s control over the southeastern part of the country.
Since the beginning of the year, the fighting has forced some 60,000 people to flee their homes in the state, according to the UN.
In July, the army recaptured the border town of Kurmuk, continuing its advance to take control of a 153-kilometer highway connecting El Damazin—which it controls—with the northern part of the state.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the MPLS-N led by Hilo control the southern part of Blue Nile State, which borders Ethiopia and South Sudan.
In May, the Sudanese government—which is aligned with the regular army— accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of facilitating drone attacks launched from Ethiopian territory that target states across the vast war-torn country, particularly the area around the capital, Khartoum.
Emirati authorities have been accused by many parties of arming and providing other forms of support to the RAS, a charge they categorically deny.
Ethiopia also denies that it is providing refuge on its territory to RSO or UAE troops.
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Source: CNA
