Ethiopia Orders Six Sudanese Diplomats Out, Closes Border Consulate
The expulsion follows a formal complaint to the UN Security Council accusing Addis Ababa of allowing RSF drone attacks on Sudanese infrastructure.
By Christian Morales ·
Ethiopian authorities ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours on Tuesday. The government also shut down the Sudanese consulate in Asosa, a town on the shared border. The diplomatic staff departed on Tuesday evening, ending their tenure in the capital region.
A senior Ethiopian official told Reuters that the order applied to six members of the consulate staff. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. An Ethiopian intelligence official later confirmed the decision to the Associated Press. A Sudanese official verified the expulsions, noting that Ethiopia’s foreign ministry summoned the Sudanese ambassador on Sunday to announce the closure.
Sudan filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on Sunday. In the complaint, Khartoum accused Ethiopia of allowing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, to use Ethiopian territory for drone strikes. These attacks targeted civilian infrastructure inside Sudan. Neither side has provided a specific public reason for the expulsions.
The diplomatic friction follows recent drone strikes on Sunday that hit electricity substations in the northern Sudanese towns of Al-Dabbah and Abu Hamad. The attacks knocked out power in those areas. Sudan’s government and the rights group Emergency Lawyers blamed the RSF for the strikes. The wider campaign of attacks has disrupted water and power supplies, threatening medical services in the affected regions.
Amjad Farid, a political and foreign affairs adviser for Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, said his government is committed to defending its territory. He stated that Sudan is making every possible effort to avoid an open war with Ethiopia. A direct military confrontation would strain the Sudanese military, which is already fighting intense battles with the RSF in the southeast of the country.
Ethiopia denies supporting the RSF in Sudan’s civil war. The conflict between Sudan’s military and the RSF began in 2023. The war has killed tens of thousands of people. The United Nations reports that the war has displaced more than 14 million individuals. This diplomatic spat occurs against that backdrop of widespread instability.
This move follows a pattern of recent actions by Ethiopia. On October 1, Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Eritrea. Eritrea responded by severing diplomatic ties entirely. Ethiopia also expelled an Egyptian diplomat last month. Relations with Egypt have been strained by disputes over Ethiopia’s dam on the Blue Nile, which Cairo fears could reduce its water supplies.
Ethiopia has also accused Sudan, Egypt, and Eritrea of supporting Tigrayan rebels who launched an offensive against government forces in September. All three countries have denied these allegations. The cycle of accusations continues as the Horn of Africa faces the prospect of a wider conflict involving multiple national armies and paramilitary groups.
