KHARTOUM, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Saturday officially announced closure of its eastern border with Eritrea following deployment of thousands of Sudanese troops in Kassala State on the border with Eritrea, official SUNA news agency reported.
Kassala State Governor Adam Jamma issued the decision of closing all border crossings with Eritrea, attributing the reason to the state of emergency earlier declared in the state, the report said.
"The decision stipulates closing of all border crossings with Eritrea as of the evening of Jan. 5, 2018 until further instructions," it added.
The decision came hours after Sudanese government denied tension with Eritrea, saying the deployment of troops in Kassala State came within the framework of an emergency order and a decree relating to collecting arms and unlicensed vehicles, besides confronting human trafficking operations and smuggling of arms and commodities.
Thousands of soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces, an affiliate of the Sudanese army, recently arrived in the state.
On Dec. 30, 2017, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir issued a decree declaring a state of emergency in North Kordofan State in western Sudan and Kassala State in eastern Sudan.
According to the decree, the state of emergency will last six months.
