In July and August 2025, Dabanga reported incursions of Ethiopian militia into Gedaref territory, leading to incidents of looting.1221 Tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia in the wake of a drone strike on Khartoum airport in which the SAF reportedly saw Ethiopian involvement led to additional SAF deployment in East Qalabat, Basunda and Al-Fashaga localities in May 2026.1222 In August 2026, fighting between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in western Tigray near the border with Gedaref state reportedly prompted the SAF to raise their military readiness in the area among concerns about possible spillover across the border and disruptions to the vital agricultural sector.1223
- 1221
Dabanga, مقتل مواطن في سوق الماشية بالقلابات في توغّل جديد لميليشيات إثيوبية [Citizen killed at livestock market in Al-Qalabat caused by a new incursion of Ethiopian militia], 11 August 2025, url; Dabanga, ميليشيات إثيوبية مسلّحة تعود إلى الفشقة وأعمال نهب في القلابات بالقضارف [Ethiopian militia return to Al-Fashaqa – lootings in Al-Qabalat in Gedaref], 2 July 2025, url
- 1222
Sudan Tribune, Sudan reinforces Ethiopian border as tensions rise over drone strikes, 7 May 2026, url
- 1223
Mada Masr, Sudan Nashra: Military builds on North Kordofan gains, prepares push into West Kordofan, repels RSF attempt to recapture West Darfur position along Chadian border | SPLM-N clashes with Otoro tribe inside Kauda | Third nationwide blackout in a week as financing impasse stalls electricity sector recovery | Stalled grid repairs put planting season at risk | Ethiopia fighting threatens Sudan’s largest rain-fed farming state, 6 August 2026, url