Ethiopia and Sudan have escalated a diplomatic dispute by expelling each other’s consular staff and closing border-region consulates, amid accusations that each side is backing armed groups operating against the other.
Ethiopia ordered six staff members at Sudan’s consulate in Assosa, in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, to leave within 48 hours and ordered the mission closed, according to Ethiopian and Sudanese officials.
Sudan responded by closing Ethiopia’s consulate in Gadarif, in eastern Sudan, and expelling the diplomats working there. The Ethiopian consular staff was declared persona non grata and given 48 hours to leave.
The escalation follows Sudan’s complaints to the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. Khartoum accuses Ethiopia of allowing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to launch drone attacks from Ethiopian territory against Sudanese power, fuel, and other civilian infrastructure.
Sudan’s army-aligned authorities said they documented 70 attacks involving 187 one-way attack drones between February and late October, and reported hundreds of civilian and military casualties.
However, Ethiopia denies supporting the RSF and has accused Sudan of backing rebels in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, while Khartoum rejects the claims.
