KHARTOUM, Sudan 

The Sudanese army said Sunday its forces had repelled an attempt by Ethiopian troops to push deep into the disputed Al-Fashqa border area.

“The armed forces resisted an incursion by Ethiopian troops and forced them to retreat,” Al-Taher Abu Haja, media adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, told Anadolu Agency.

“The army will not allow the Ethiopian forces to enter Al-Fashqa again after reclaiming the territory,” he said.

With a 1,600-kilometer (994-mile) shared border, Sudan and Ethiopia are engaged in a conflict regarding al-Fashqa Triangle, a decades-long disputed border without rigid demarcation that was renewed in November.

While Khartoum said on Dec. 31, 2020 that it imposed its control over the Sudanese territory where Ethiopian militias were present, Addis Ababa accuses the Sudanese army of controlling the Ethiopian region, a claim denied by Khartoum.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara