Ethiopian troops have crossed into South Sudan in search of children abducted by armed men from across the border last week, a Government spokesman has said.
“The Army has been conducting reconnaissance missions in South Sudan and they have a clear idea of where the children are,” Ethiopia’s Communications Minister Getachew Reda said.
“We have sought approval of the Government of South Sudan to conduct these operations, he added. More than 200 people were killed and 102 children abducted by armed men from South Sudan in a cross-border raid into Ethiopia on April 15.
The assailants, armed with Kalashnikov rifles killed anyone who opposed them, according to witnesses. They also stole over 2,000 livestock. Ethiopian officials blame Murle tribesmen from South Sudan for a series of deadly attacks on Ethiopian villages in the western Gambella region.