Two Sudanese fishermen slain by Ethiopian gunmen – joint border patrols agreed

On Sunday, Ethiopian militiamen attacked and killed two Sudanese fishermen in Sudan’s eastern El Gedaref state. A protocol has been signed in Khartoum for Sudanese Ethiopian join forces to patrol border areas

Residents told Radio Dabanga from Hillet Khatir in East El Gallabat that the men were killed while fishing in the Atbara River.

They pointed to the ongoing Ethiopian militia attacks on the border areas of El Gedaref, with repeated incursions into Sudanese territory. They called on the government to play its role in properly demarcating the border with Ethiopia in order to protect the border areas from militia attacks.

Joint forces

In Khartoum, the Sudanese and Ethiopian defence ministries signed a protocol on the deployment of joint forces on the border to control and combat smuggling, illegal immigration, and trans-border crime.

The Sudanese delegation included the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Maj Gen Kamal Abdelmarouf and Gen Saere Mekonen, Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian Federal Army.

Abdelmarouf said that by this step, the two countries will continue to vigorously control all problems, prevent frictions and protect the rights of people in the border areas.

He explained that the experts between the two countries will meet after two weeks in El Gedaref to prepare details of the places to station these border forces, which will be in place before autumn.