One killed, one wounded in eastern Sudan road robbery

One person was killed while another sustained injuries in an attack, allegedly by Ethiopian militiamen, on a vehicle in southern El Gedaref state on Monday. The border demarcation issue is scheduled to be discussed by the two countries in December.

The vehicle was on its way from Basunda in eastern El Galabat locality when Ethiopian militia members opened fire, according to Gamer Hassan Eltaher, a local activist.

He told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen intended to abduct the passengers for ransom, as well as robbing them of their money. “However the vehicle’s guard exchanged gunfire with the bandits, and forced them to flee.”

The activist claimed that the number of murdered or abducted Sudanese at the hands of Ethiopian militiamen “has exceeded 50 during the past three months”.

In related events, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said that redrawing the borders between Sudan and Ethiopia will begin next month, according to a previous agreement with Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir. Sudan’s state Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kamal Eldin Ismail told Sudan’s news agency SUNA that their meeting underlined the outcome and recommendations of the recent meeting of the Joint Sudanese- Ethiopian Higher Committee (JSEHC).

Last week Mohamed El Mardi, chairman of the state’s Legislative Council, urged the authorities to speed up the demarcation of the border. He reported that Ethiopian militiamen occupy more than 50 villages and a million acres of farmland.

The Sudanese-Ethiopian border line of El Gedaref state is a disputed one. Recently, Sudanese farmers in El Fashaga locality were expelled by Ethiopian gunmen. Reportedly about 2,000 Ethiopian farmers are now cultivating lands in the eastern part of El Gedaref state.