Ethiopia and Sudan order reciprocal diplomatic expulsions
Ethiopia ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave within 48 hours and closed Sudan’s consulate in Asosa. Sudanese officials said they had issued a corresponding order to Ethiopian consular staff in Gedaref. The diplomatic rupture comes amid mutual accusations of supporting armed opponents, which both governments reject, and Sudan’s earlier complaints to international security councils.
Geopolitics··Morning
Six diplomats given 48 hours to leave
Ethiopia ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave within 48 hours and closed Sudan’s consulate in Asosa, a border town in western Ethiopia. Ethiopian and Sudanese officials confirmed the measures. Sudanese government officials said their country had responded by ordering Ethiopian consular staff in Gedaref, in eastern Sudan near the border, to leave within the same period. The reciprocal expulsions further reduce diplomatic contacts between the neighbouring governments.[1], [2]
Sudan’s account of its response came from officials speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the French news agency. One said the staff in Gedaref had been declared unwelcome. Ethiopian authorities did not immediately answer the agency’s request for comment on that account.[2]
Accusations link the countries’ armed conflicts
Sudan’s army-aligned government accuses Ethiopia of allowing the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary organisation fighting Sudan’s army, to use Ethiopian territory for drone attacks on civilian infrastructure. Addis Ababa denies supporting the group. Ethiopia in turn accuses Sudan’s military of assisting rebels in Tigray, its northern region, and Khartoum rejects that allegation. The competing claims of cross-border support have not been independently verified.[1]
On Sunday, Sudan said it had taken its complaints to the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. Amjad Farid, political and foreign affairs adviser to Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, said the government maintained its right to defend its territory while making efforts to avoid open war with Ethiopia.[1]
Expulsions follow other regional diplomatic ruptures
Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023, and its army continues intense fighting against the Rapid Support Forces in the southeast. Ethiopia’s accusations about Tigrayan rebels followed their September offensive against government forces. Addis Ababa has also accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting those rebels; both countries reject the allegation.[1]
Last month, Addis Ababa expelled ten Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Eritrea, which responded by severing diplomatic relations. Ethiopia also expelled an Egyptian diplomat. Relations with Egypt have long been strained by their dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.[1]
