By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ethiopia has ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, a senior Ethiopian official said on Wednesday, marking a new twist in the deteriorating diplomatic relations between both countries.
Both have accused each other supporting the other’s enemies. Sudan has alleged that Ethiopia is backing 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, accusing Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to use its territory to launch suicide drones against civilian infrastructure in Sudan.
Ethiopia ordered six staff members of the Sudanese consulate in the border town of Assosa to leave within 48 hours, the senior Ethiopian official said, without providing a reason for the decision.
Addis Ababa has denied supporting the RSF in Sudan’s civil war.
The conflict which started since April 2023 has displaced more than 14 million people, according to UN figures, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Ethiopia has accused Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea of supporting Tigrayan rebels who launched an offensive against government forces in September. All three countries have denied this.
“The Sudanese government remains committed to its right to defend its territory. Nevertheless, it is making every possible effort to avoid an open war with Ethiopia,” Amjad Farid, political and foreign affairs adviser for Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, said.
