Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Tuesday his country did not want war with Sudan, as tensions over a contested region along with their border spark fears of a broader conflict.

"Ethiopia also has many problems, and we are not ready to go to battle. We don't need war. It is better to settle it in a peaceful manner," Abiy told parliament in remarks translated into English for a live TV broadcast.

He stressed later that Ethiopia "did not want war" with their neighbour over this decades-old territorial dispute, describing Sudan as a "brotherly country" whose people loved Ethiopia.

The border quarrel is over Al-Fashaqa, an agricultural area sandwiched between two rivers, where Ethiopia's northern Amhara and Tigray regions meet Sudan's eastern Gedaref state.

The fertile farmland is claimed by both countries and has been a flashpoint for conflict, most recently as fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region sent some 60,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan.

As violence in Ethiopia came closer, Khartoum sent troops into the Al-Fashaqa region, "to recapture the stolen lands and take up positions on the international lines," Sudan's state media reported.

In December, Khartoum dispatched reinforcements to Al-Fashaqa after "Ethiopian forces and militias" allegedly ambushed Sudanese troops, killing at least four soldiers.