Ethiopia and Sudan have closed each other's consulates near their shared frontier, turning accusations of wartime interference into a direct diplomatic rupture. The reciprocal measures affect offices in Assosa and Gedaref, two border cities important for official contact while both countries confront active armed conflicts.
Ethiopia first shut Sudan's consulate in Assosa and ordered six diplomats to leave within 48 hours, according to a senior Ethiopian official who gave no public reason. Sudan responded by closing Ethiopia's consulate in Gedaref and expelling its staff, officials in Khartoum said.
Sudan accuses Ethiopia of allowing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to use Ethiopian territory for suicide-drone attacks on civilian infrastructure. It has taken that allegation to the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. Addis Ababa denies supporting the RSF.
Ethiopia, in turn, accuses Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea of backing Tigrayan rebels who launched an offensive against federal forces in September. All three governments reject the charge. The competing claims create a dangerous logic in which each state portrays cross-border pressure as defensive assistance to its neighbour's enemies.
Sudan's civil war has displaced more than fourteen million people since April 2023 and produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia adds another potential front, while consular closures weaken the local channels that could manage refugees, trade, security incidents and civilian movement.
Amjad Farid, an adviser to Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, said Khartoum remained determined to defend its territory but was making every effort to avoid open war with Ethiopia. That statement acknowledges both the seriousness of the confrontation and the severe cost of allowing proxy accusations to become interstate combat.
Avoiding escalation will require more than restoring consulates. Both governments would need credible mechanisms to investigate drone routes, armed-group support and border incidents, preferably with African Union involvement. Without verification and renewed communication, each battlefield development could be interpreted as evidence of hostile state intervention.
