ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, April 21, 2016
Latest military report from Ethiopia indicate that its troops have crossed into South Sudan in coordinated operation aimed at hunting down and rescuing abducted children by armed men.
Last week, more than 200 people were killed and 102 children killed by armed men from South Sudan in a cross-border raid into Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has sought approval from the government of South Sudan for the counter raid aimed at rescuing the abducted children.
According to Ethiopia’s Minister of Communication, Ethiopia forces have crossed over to South Sudan and already have a clear idea of where the children are.
"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 briefed media.
According to reports by Ethiopia's Fana radio, the army has already encircled the area where the abducted children are being detained and operations to rescue them are on.
The assailants from South Sudan armed with Kalashnikov rifles killed anyone who tried to oppose them, according to local witnesses adding that apart from abducting children, they also stole over 2,000 livestock.
Ethiopian officials blame Murle tribesmen from South Sudan, based in the eastern Jonglei region for a series of deadly attacks on Ethiopian border villages in the western Gambella region.
