June 27 (Reuters) – Sudan accused the Ethiopian army of capturing and executing seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian, although a senior Ethiopian official denied any such incident occurred.
Skirmishes have erupted between neighboring countries in recent years over the fertile and disputed border region of Al-Fashqa.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the two men were arrested on Sudanese soil on June 22 and taken to Ethiopia, where they were killed.
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The ministry said it is recalling the Ethiopian ambassador in Khartoum, recalling its ambassador from Addis Ababa for discussions, and preparing an official complaint to the UN Security Council.
The Sudanese army, late on Sunday evening, accused Ethiopia of displaying the bodies in public. “This perfidious act will not go unanswered,” the army said in a statement.
Ethiopian government spokeswoman Legisi Tolo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The senior Ethiopian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the incident did not happen. “What they said is full of lies,” the official said.
Tensions have been particularly high in recent years over Ethiopia’s construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, which Sudan and Egypt fear will affect their main water supplies.
The conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has also sent tens of thousands of refugees across the border into eastern Sudan.
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(Report of Moataz Mohamed and Khaled Abdel Aziz). Additional reporting by the Addis Ababa office; Written by Nafisa Al-Taher and Mahmoud Murad. Editing by Daniel Wallis and Andrew Heavens
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