Six Sudanese soldiers killed in Ethiopian attack

Six Sudanese soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack by Ethiopian forces on a Sudanese army post near the border between the countries, Sudanese military sources told Reuters.

Sudan’s army said in an earlier statement on Facebook that “groups of the Ethiopian army and militias attacked its forces in Al-Fashaga Al-sughra, which resulted in deaths … our forces valiantly repelled the attack and inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment on the attackers.”

The army statement did not provide any details about the death toll.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a Reuters message seeking comment on the incident.

Ethiopian leader heads to war’s front lines as Olympians join the military

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has gone to direct the war from the front lines, state-affiliated media reported on Wednesday, as two Olympian athletes announced they were enlisting in the military.

Gold medallist Haile Gebreselassie, who set 27 long-distance running records, told Reuters he was joining up. So is Olympic silver medallist runner Feyisa Lelisa, local media reported.

While Abiy is away, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen would take charge of routine government business in his absence, government spokesman Legesse Tulu told a news conference, according to a report from Fana news outlet.

Abiy announced late on Monday he was planning to personally direct the fight against Tigrayan forces and their allies.

“Let’s meet at the war front,” he wrote “The time has come to lead the country with sacrifice.”

Last month Tigrayan forces and their allies threatened to march on the capital Addis Ababa. They have also been fighting fiercely to try to cut a transport corridor linking landlocked Ethiopia with the region’s main port Djibouti.

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