[17] Since 2008, Ethiopia has dropped all claims to the al-Fashaga as long as Sudan allowed Ethiopian farmers and militants to stay in the area undisturbed.

When Amhara militants left to assist the federal government in the war, Sudanese forces started to drive out Ethiopian farmers, effectively breaking the 2008 compromise.

[18] After the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, Ethiopia and Sudan began long-dormant talks to settle the exact location of their 744 km-long (462 miles) border, with the most difficult area to agree on being the al-Fashaga region.

[19][25] Complicating matters further was a rapid exodus of refugees fleeing to Sudan from the Tigray Region's Western Zone, many of them attempting to escape the wartime violence.

On 2 December, the Sudanese Armed Forces occupied the Khor Yabis area, controlled by Ethiopia for twenty-five years, expelling Ethiopian militants without a fight.

Later that day, the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, said that the armed forces of Sudan were prepared to repel the military aggression.

Already dealing with a war in the north, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tried to calm the situation by tweeting, "Such incidents will not break the bond b/n our two countries as we always use dialogue to resolve issues.

"[24][25] Tensions increased when Sudan started mobilising soldiers to the contested border and by New Year's day, it claimed to have recaptured all villages in the region.

Four days later, on 24 February, Eritrea denied the involvement of its forces in the tensions on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border, stating that it wished for a peaceful solution to the conflict and that the government understood Sudan's position regarding its right to extend its sovereignty.

[35] On 2 March, the Sudanese army continued to push into the last Ethiopian stronghold of Bereket in the disputed border region of al-Fashaga, against Ethiopian-backed forces.

[38] On 13 April, 62 prisoners (53 Ethiopians and 9 Sudanese) were exchanged between Sudan and Ethiopia through the Gallabat border crossing in an atmosphere of "positive cooperation and coordination between the two sides".

[40] Sudanese captain Bahaa El-Din Youssef, commander of the Gallabat Military Region, was captured and later tortured while pursuing the militia behind the kidnapping.

[7][44] On 24 August 2022, the Ethiopian Air Force shot down a plane carrying weapons that they suspected to be destined for the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

[45] Major General Tesfaye Ayelew, quoted by the Ethiopian News Agency, said that the plane "violated our airspace from Sudan... and aimed to supply weapons to the terror group, was shot down by our heroic air force".

[50] However, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed denied that clashes had occurred, and claimed that some parties were spreading false allegations to incite conflict and jeopardize ties between Ethiopia and Sudan.