Sudan Summons Ethiopian Ambassador Over Bodies in Border River

(Bloomberg) -- Sudan summoned Ethiopia’s ambassador to inform him that dozens of bodies have been retrieved from a river close to the two nations’ border.

The remains of 29 people from the Tigray ethnic group were found in the Sitit River, known as the Tekeze River in Ethiopia, between July 26 and Aug. 8, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Ethiopian ambassador that the bodies belonged to Ethiopian citizens of Tigray nationality,” the ministry said. Ethiopians residing in the Wad al Hulaywah area of eastern Sudan found the corpses, it said.

Ethiopia’s government has denounced media reports about the bodies as fake, and said they’re part of a campaign orchestrated by supporters of Tigray to discredit Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, has faced a stream of reports of atrocities committed by Ethiopian troops and their allies in Tigray in a conflict that erupted in the northern region in November. The government has responded with claims that forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have also committed abuses, including recruiting child soldiers to their cause.

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