ADDIS ABABA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia National Defense Force (ENDF) has rejected allegations that it executed seven captive Sudanese soldiers.
The Ethiopian army wasn't even present in the area of the alleged atrocity and as such couldn't commit the alleged execution act, Getnet Adane, public relations director at the ENDF, told state media on Tuesday.
"The Ethiopian National Defense Force's distinct trait is it handles any captives it has in its hands in a lawful and humane way," Adane said.
On Sunday, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) issued a statement through the state-owned Sudan News Agency (SUNA) alleging that the Ethiopian army had executed seven captive Sudanese soldiers and one Sudanese civilian.
The SAF also accused the Ethiopian army of parading the bodies to an Ethiopian public.
The ENDF denied the Ethiopian allegations and accused the Sudanese military of trying to divert from its country's "political crisis" by conducting regular provocations against Ethiopia.
Adane, the Ethiopian army spokesperson, warned that the Ethiopian army won't hesitate to use force to wrest back "Ethiopian land" from Sudanese control and restore Ethiopia's "full territorial integrity" if given orders by the Ethiopian government.
On Monday, Sudan decided to file a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council against Ethiopia, while the Sudanese foreign ministry decided to immediately recall its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations and to summon the Ethiopian ambassador in Khartoum to inform him of Sudan's condemnation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Sudan and Ethiopia to take concrete steps to defuse tensions and to peacefully resolve their differences over the Al-Fashaqa border area, a UN spokesman said Tuesday.
Ethiopia and Sudan have longstanding competing claims over the Al-Fashaqa border region, an area of fertile land settled by Ethiopian farmers that Sudan claims is within its boundary.
"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the renewed clashes between Sudan and Ethiopia along their disputed border that took place on 22 June, and reportedly resulted in the death of seven Sudanese soldiers and one civilian," Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief's spokesman, told a daily press briefing.
"The secretary-general expresses his condolences to the families of the victims," he said. ■