Ethiopia, Sudan close each other’s consulates after allegations of meddling in civil war

Ethiopia and Sudan closed each other’s consulates near their shared border, officials from the two countries said on Wednesday, marking a further deterioration in relations over allegations that each side is supporting the other’s enemies.

Sudan accuses Ethiopia of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, while Ethiopia accuses Sudan of backing rebels in its northern Tigray region.

The allegations and counter-allegations, which both sides deny, have raised fears that the two wars could bleed into each other, spawning a broader conflict in the Horn of Africa.

On Sunday, Sudan’s government said it had lodged a complaint against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. Addis Ababa denies it supports the RSF in Sudan’s civil war.

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Ethiopia closed the Sudanese consulate in the border town of Assosa and ordered the six diplomats there to leave within 48 hours, a senior Ethiopian official told Reuters, without providing a reason for the decision.

Sudan’s government then closed the Ethiopian consulate in the eastern Sudanese city of Gedaref and expelled the diplomats working there, two Sudanese officials told Reuters.

The conflict in Sudan has displaced more than 14 million people, according to UN figures, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises since it erupted in April 2023.

Ethiopia has accused Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea of supporting Tigrayan rebels. All three countries have denied this.

TRT Afrika / Reuters — TRT Afrika / Reuters

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