Ethiopia and Sudan Close Consulates Following Accusations of Interference in Internal Conflicts
Ethiopia and Sudan have closed each other's consulates in a move reflecting a sharp deterioration in relations, amid mutual accusations of supporting opponents in internal conflicts, raising fears of an expansion of the war in the Horn of Africa.
Translated by Qiyas from كويت نيوز — Original source
Ethiopian and Sudanese officials said on Wednesday that each country had closed the other’s consulate near their shared border, a move reflecting further deterioration in bilateral relations amid mutual accusations of supporting each other’s opponents.
Sudan accuses Ethiopia of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, while Addis Ababa accuses Khartoum of supporting rebels in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
The mutual accusations, which both sides deny, have raised fears of spillover from the war in both countries, signaling a potential widening of the conflict in the Horn of Africa.
On Sunday, the Sudanese government said it had filed a complaint against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing it of allowing the Rapid Support Forces to use its territory to launch armed drones targeting civilian infrastructure in Sudan.
A spokesperson for the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
A senior Ethiopian official said his country had closed the Sudanese consulate in the border town of Assosa and ordered the six diplomats working there to leave within 48 hours, without citing a reason for the decision.
Sudan then closed the Ethiopian consulate in the eastern Sudanese city of Gedaref and expelled the diplomats working there, according to two Sudanese officials speaking to Reuters.
The officials requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the diplomatic matter.
Addis Ababa denies assisting the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan. UN data revealed that the civil war in Sudan has displaced more than 14 million people and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises since it erupted in April 2023.
Ethiopia has accused Sudan, Egypt, and Eritrea of supporting Tigray rebels who launched an attack on government forces in September. All three countries have denied these allegations.
Amjad Fared, a counselor for political and foreign affairs at Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, said the Sudanese government is committed to its right to defend its territory but is making every possible effort to avoid an open war with Ethiopia.
