Sudan and Ethiopia trade diplomatic expulsions amid border tensions

Ethiopia has ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours and closed Sudan's consulate in the border town of Assosa, according to reports cited in the supplied material. The move marks a sharp escalation in the diplomatic dispute between the two neighbours. It comes after Sudan lodged official complaints against Ethiopia over accusations that Addis Ababa is backing the Rapid Support Forces.

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The reports say Ethiopian authorities summoned Sudan's ambassador on Sunday to announce the consulate closure, and that the staff left on Tuesday evening. A senior Ethiopian official was cited as saying the six consulate staff had been told to depart within 48 hours, while another report attributed the action to an Ethiopian intelligence official. Neither official gave a specific reason for the expulsions, and the Sudanese official quoted in the material said the matter was being handled anonymously because of its sensitivity.

The expulsions follow Sudan's complaints to the United Nations Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council. Khartoum has accused Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to use its territory to launch drone attacks against civilian infrastructure in Sudan. Ethiopia denies supporting the RSF, while Sudan also faces Ethiopian accusations that it backs rebels in the northern Tigray region.

Both sides deny the allegations against them. The dispute matters because it adds a cross-border dimension to Sudan's war, which has already strained the country's military and diplomatic resources. The supplied material says Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council is trying to avoid open war with Ethiopia while still asserting its right to defend its territory.

It also warns that a direct confrontation would further stretch Sudan's armed forces, which remain engaged in intense fighting with the RSF in the southeast. The row also carries wider regional implications for the Horn of Africa, where conflicts in one country can quickly affect neighbours. The supplied material says the allegations and counter-allegations have raised fears that the two wars could bleed into each other.

That concern is heightened by the fact that the dispute is now moving through both diplomatic and multilateral channels, rather than remaining only a military issue. What remains unclear is whether the expulsions will trigger further retaliatory steps from either side or prompt any immediate response from regional bodies. It is also not clear what evidence, if any, will be presented publicly to support the competing claims.

The next developments to watch are whether Sudan answers with its own diplomatic measures and whether the complaints to the UN and African Union lead to any formal action.

Sudan has escalated its dispute with Ethiopia after accusing the Rapid Support Forces of launching drone attacks from Ethiopian territory against civilian infrastructure. The allegations have been taken to the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, according to the supplied report. The claims come as Sudan says more than 90% of power stations in its cities are out of service because of drone strikes.

A Sudanese foreign ministry and military intelligence report said there had been 70 separate attacks involving 187 one-way attack drones launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October. It said 28 attacks involving 97 drones took place in October alone, suggesting the pace of strikes has increased. The report also said the attacks have hit civilian sites, including power stations, in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The allegations have sharpened tensions inside Sudan as well as between Khartoum and Addis Ababa. A Sudanese border affairs specialist quoted in the report said some voices inside the army and allied forces have called for Sudan to declare war on Ethiopia over the alleged interventions. The same report says the technological range and destructive power of the drones indicate external backing, although that claim has not been independently verified.

The dispute matters because it adds a regional dimension to Sudan's war, which began in April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has already displaced about 13 million people and left thousands at risk of famine, according to the supplied material. Repeated attacks on electricity infrastructure also carry wider consequences for hospitals, water systems, communications and basic economic activity.

The latest allegations build on earlier reports of a sustained campaign against Sudan's power network. The supplied material says the attacks have damaged civilian infrastructure in several parts of the country and that the army has accused Ethiopia of helping the RSF. It also suggests the issue is now being pursued through diplomatic channels as well as on the battlefield, with Sudan seeking pressure from international and regional bodies.

What remains unclear is who is directly responsible for the drone launches and how much of the reported damage has been independently confirmed. It is also not clear whether the complaints to the United Nations and African Union will produce any immediate response. The scale of the outages and the possibility of further attacks will be closely watched as the dispute develops.

Drone strikes have reportedly hit three electricity substations in eastern and northern Sudan, causing widespread power outages in parts of the country. The attacks were reported on Monday and are the latest in a concentrated campaign targeting the national power network. Local media said facilities in New Halfa and Aroma in Kassala state were struck early in the day, while the al-Ghazali substation in Northern State was also hit.

The reported attacks brought the number of strikes on Sudan's electricity network to 18 over the past week. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show fires at the facilities, with civil defence teams trying to extinguish them. The footage and reports could not be immediately verified, but the disruption was described as affecting electricity supplies across several areas.

Sudan's military government said the attacks were part of an ongoing campaign against civilian infrastructure. The government has accused Ethiopia of helping the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in carrying out the strikes. It said on Sunday that it had filed complaints against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council.

The accusations add a regional dimension to a conflict that has already devastated Sudan's infrastructure since fighting between the army and the RSF began in April 2023. The latest strikes also come as the army reported new defections from the RSF in Damazin, in Blue Nile state. The repeated targeting of substations matters because electricity infrastructure is central to hospitals, water systems, communications and basic economic activity.

A sustained campaign against the grid can deepen humanitarian pressure and complicate recovery in areas already affected by war. It also raises the stakes for neighbouring states if Sudan's authorities continue to frame the attacks as having external support. The complaints to international and regional bodies suggest Khartoum is seeking to widen diplomatic pressure alongside its military response.

Sudan's power system has been repeatedly exposed during the war, with civilian infrastructure often caught in the wider conflict. The reported strikes in Kassala and Northern State show that the campaign is not confined to one front line and is affecting both eastern and northern parts of the country. The mention of defections from the RSF in Blue Nile state also points to shifting dynamics inside the paramilitary group, although the scale and significance of those defections remain unclear.

The army's claim that it has information about Ethiopian support has not been independently verified. What remains unclear is who carried out the drone strikes and whether the reported damage has been fully assessed. It is also not clear how long the outages will last or whether further substations will be targeted.

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