The eastern part of Sudan, not only the Beja tribe, pushes for an alternate deal as Sudan’s military claims to have repulsed an invasion attempt by Ethiopian troops.

It is becoming clear that it is not just the Beja tribe that wants an alternate agreement, but also the desires of the people in the country’s east.

According to information received by NCMP, particularly the analysis provided by Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, the Beja tribe said that the October 2020 agreement is “not representative and does not address the underlying reasons of marginalization” and “underdevelopment in the eastern area.”

The Beja tribe is one of the most important tribes in eastern Sudan. And the tribe has often expressed their worries; they want to ensure that the government knows what it is like to be in an economic crisis, to be undeveloped, and to have their views heard.

Protesters from the Beja tribes in eastern Sudan have shut down ports and blocked highways in protest of what they call the region’s terrible political and economic circumstances.

In the report by Al Jazeera obtained by NCMP, Waleed Madibo, founder and president of the Sudan Policy Forum, said the grievances of the demonstrators are “justified”.

“It’s not only the concerns of the Beja tribe … I think it’s the demands of the people in the eastern part of the country,” Madibo explained.

“The anger has been simmering for decades and it has reached a point where they could no longer take it,” he said. The anger escalated “especially” after the Juba agreement was signed with groups in Darfur – which excluded others in eastern and northern parts of the country, he added.

“Consequently, we see anger accumulating and reaching a point where they are now, I think, sabotaging the whole country,” Madibo said.

Amid the protest and the expression of the dissatisfaction by the Beja tribe, Sudan’s military claims it has repulsed an attempted invasion by Ethiopian troops along the country’s border.

Ethiopian troops were forced to withdraw from the Umm Barakit region, according to a military statement issued on Sunday, without providing more information.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military chief, told reporters the event occurred on Saturday. He said it demonstrated how the military was defending the nation in the aftermath of a coup attempt in Khartoum last week.

Ethiopia’s military spokesperson, Colonel Getnet Adane, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Tensions along the Sudan-Ethiopia border have risen since a conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region erupted last year, sending tens of thousands of people into eastern Sudan.

Tensions have centred on al-Fashqa, a rich agricultural region where the boundary is contested.

Meanwhile, protestors in eastern Sudan have blocked down a pipeline that transports imported crude oil to Khartoum.

Protesters from the Beja tribes in eastern Sudan have shut down ports and blocked highways in protest of what they call the region’s terrible political and economic circumstances.

The ministry has urged protestors to halt the closure within a week in order to save the nation from significant financial and technical losses.

Sudan’s oil and energy minister, Gadian Ali Obaid, said in an interview: “The authorities are trying to resolve the problem of port closures.”

On Saturday, he said that the nation had adequate reserves to last up to ten days.

According to the government, the Khartoum oil refinery, which produces fuel for local use, is still operational.

Another pipeline used to transport crude oil from neighboring South Sudan is still operational, but it is susceptible to freezing and damage as a result of protestors preventing a vessel from loading the oil, according to the ministry.

If the blockade of exports continues, oil stockpiles at the Bashayer oil terminal port in eastern Sudan would be completely filled in 10 days, according to the ministry. As a result, South Sudanese oilfields would cease production.

On Friday, an advisor to Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok accused unnamed forces of exploiting the demonstrations to harm the economy and put pressure on the transitional administration, which will take over when Omar al-Bashir is deposed in 2019.

Stopping oil shipments would result in “significant economic losses,” according to the assistant, Yaser Arman, in a statement. He calculated that a lengthy shutdown might cost more than $1 billion.