Following the Fano militia’s seizure of the nearby Ethiopian town of Metemma, authorities in Sudan’s eastern Al-Qadarif state blocked the Gallabat border crossing with Ethiopia on Sunday, sources told Sudan Tribune. Following the federal government’s 2020 signing of a peace agreement with Tigrayan troops, there have been repeated battles between Fano and government forces in the Amhara area, which borders Gederaf.
According to the sources, when Ethiopian federal police and army members were disarmed, the Sudanese authorities permitted them to enter the country. Fano granted permission for Sudanese who were stuck at the border to enter Ethiopia in exchange.
Thousands of Sudanese have entered Ethiopia through Gallabat since the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting in Sudan in April. According to the reports, Fano also took control of the Ethiopian border crossing at Metemma with the intention of cutting off food and fuel supplies from Sudan to the Amhara region.