NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia has expelled six staff members of Sudan’s consulate in Assosa, a western city near the Sudanese border, and ordered the mission closed, Ethiopian and Sudanese officials said, another sign of frayed ties between the two African countries.
An Ethiopian intelligence official said the six Sudanese consular staff were given 48 hours to leave the country. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry rejected similar Sudanese accusations in a May 5 statement , calling them baseless, and accused Sudan of supporting rebels in its northern Tigray region. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry had not publicly announced these latest measures, unlike last month’s expulsions. Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that drones used in attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on the country’s electricity infrastructure were supplied by the United Arab Emirates and launched from Ethiopia.
Because he was not authorized to speak to the press, the official spoke on condition of anonymity. Because he did not want to escalate the diplomatic dispute, he said the staff departed Tuesday evening and spoke on condition of anonymity. Neither official provided a specific reason for the decision. Sudan’s ambassador to Ethiopia declined to comment. Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. Drone strikes on electricity substations in the northern Sudanese towns of Al-Dabbah and Abu Hamad knocked out power Sunday. Sudan’s government and the rights group Emergency Lawyers blamed the RSF. The wider campaign has disrupted electricity and water supplies and threatened essential medical services.
The ministry said it submitted official complaints against the Ethiopian government at the U.N. A Sudanese official corroborated the expulsions, adding that Ethiopian authorities had summoned Sudan’s ambassador on Sunday to announce the consulate’s closure.
