ADDIS ABABA, November 05, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Ethiopia and Sudan have closed each other’s consulates near their shared border, escalating diplomatic tensions amid mutual accusations of backing armed groups fighting in their respective conflicts and raising concerns about a wider regional confrontation.
The closures mark a further deterioration in relations between the neighbouring countries, whose governments accuse each other of interfering in domestic conflicts. Both sides deny the allegations.
Sudan accuses Ethiopia of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting Sudan’s army since April 2023. Addis Ababa, in turn, alleges that Sudan is backing rebels in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
The dispute intensified on Sunday when Sudan’s government said it had filed a complaint against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. Khartoum accused its neighbour of allowing RSF fighters to use Ethiopian territory to launch suicide drone attacks against civilian infrastructure in Sudan.
A senior Ethiopian official said that authorities had ordered the closure of Sudan’s consulate in the border town of Assosa and given its six diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. The official did not provide a reason for the decision.
Sudan subsequently shut Ethiopia’s consulate in the eastern city of Gedaref and expelled the diplomats stationed there, two Sudanese officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The diplomatic measures have heightened concerns that the two conflicts could increasingly overlap, potentially drawing neighbouring countries into a broader confrontation in the Horn of Africa.
Sudan’s war has displaced more than 14 million people, according to United Nations figures, and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
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 rejected the allegations.
Despite the mounting tensions, Sudan has signalled that it wants to avoid direct military confrontation with Ethiopia.
“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 to Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, said.
The latest diplomatic expulsions underscore the growing strain between the two countries as accusations of cross-border interference add a regional dimension to conflicts already destabilising the Horn of Africa.