KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan on Thursday announced a ban on civil aviation in the airspace of Al-Qadarif state which borders Ethiopia, citing security reasons.

"The Ministry of Defense has sent a decision to the Civil Aviation Authority to prevent flying over the airspace of Al-Qadarif State," Abdelhafez Abdelrahim, the spokesman for the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority, told Anadolu Agency.

The decision was based on "security reasons," he added.

The two East African nations have been locked in a border dispute since December when Sudanese forces crossed into Ethiopia saying they were reclaiming their lands.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara