Ethiopia and Sudan expel each other's diplomats over rival proxy charges

Officials told Reuters, AFP and The Associated Press on Nov. 4 that Ethiopia and Sudan had closed each other's border consulates and ordered the staff out within 48 hours. The moves followed Sudan's accusation that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been launching drones from Ethiopian territory, and Ethiopia's counter-charge that Sudan is backing rebels in Tigray. Both governments deny the other's claim. Neither has produced independently verified evidence in the reporting so far (Reuters, AFP and AP, via Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).

What was ordered

• Assosa. Ethiopia declared six Sudanese consular staff at the mission in Assosa (also spelled Asosa), in Benishangul-Gumuz near the Sudanese border, persona non grata and gave them 48 hours to leave. It also ordered the consulate closed. AFP, citing a Sudanese official, said the declaration was made on Nov. 2. A Sudanese official told AP the staff left on Tuesday evening. Neither side publicly gave a specific reason for the Assosa order itself (Reuters and AP, via Al Jazeera, Nov. 4; AFP, Nov. 4).
• Gedaref. Sudan responded by closing Ethiopia's consulate in Gedaref (also reported as Gadarif), near the shared border, and declaring its staff persona non grata with the same 48-hour deadline (two Sudanese officials to Reuters; AFP, Nov. 4).
• No public statements. The foreign ministries had not issued official statements on the mutual expulsions as of the Nov. 4-5 reporting (Sudan Tribune, Nov. 4-5).

The proxy charges each capital is making

• Sudan's charge. Sudan's army-aligned government says Ethiopia has allowed the RSF - the paramilitary force fighting Sudan's regular army since April 2023 - to use Ethiopian territory to launch drone attacks on Sudanese cities and civilian infrastructure. On Sunday, Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council said it had documented 70 such attacks this year and that 187 one-way attack drones were launched from Ethiopian territory, killing and injuring nearly 500 civilians. It said it filed complaints against Ethiopia at the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council (AFP, Nov. 4; Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).
• Ethiopia's charge. Ethiopia denies supporting the RSF. It has accused Sudan - and, in related reporting, Egypt and Eritrea - of backing armed groups linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front. Khartoum rejects that allegation (AFP, Nov. 4; Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).
• What is not established. The drone-launch and rebel-support claims remain contested. The available reporting does not independently establish who launched the drones, whether Ethiopian state authorities authorized any use of Ethiopian territory, or whether Sudanese authorities have armed Tigrayan fighters.

Why the border matters

• Assosa and Gedaref sit on opposite sides of a contested Horn border that already handles Sudanese war traffic and Ethiopian northern-front pressure. Sudan's war has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 14 million people, Al Jazeera reported, citing the conflict's toll; AFP separately cited aid-worker estimates of more than 200,000 killed since April 2023.
• Overnight on Wednesday, residents of Al-Damazin, the capital of Sudan's Blue Nile state across from Assosa, reported hearing drone strikes through the night. The RSF has advanced through Blue Nile toward Al-Damazin this year, displacing some 100,000 people, nearly half of them sheltering in the city, according to the UN (AFP, Nov. 4).
• On Sunday, drone strikes on electricity substations in the northern Sudanese towns of al-Dabba and Abu Hamad knocked out power. Sudan's government and the rights group Emergency Lawyers blamed the RSF (Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).

The diplomatic backdrop

• Amjad Farid, a political and foreign affairs adviser to Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, said: "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" (Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).
• The Assosa order follows Ethiopia's Oct. 1 expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats and the closure of its embassy in Eritrea, after which Eritrea severed ties. Ethiopia also expelled an Egyptian diplomat last month amid Nile-dam and Tigray-related accusations (Al Jazeera, Nov. 4).
• Sudan Tribune, citing diplomatic sources, said Khartoum does not rule out recalling its ambassador in Addis Ababa for consultations, as it did in May, and that private sources claim British and U.S. mediation is under way. Those claims are not corroborated in the Reuters/AFP/AP reporting used for the expulsion facts (Sudan Tribune, Nov. 4-5).

What may follow (inference, not a finding)

• Inference: With the border consulates shut, the next drone strike, refugee movement or armed incident near Assosa-Gedaref is more likely to be read through the existing proxy accusations, with fewer routine channels to clarify it.
• Inference: Watch for further UN or African Union statements, any airspace or trade measures, and whether Egypt or Eritrea align publicly with Khartoum's complaint.

Open questions

• Who first made the Assosa RSF allegation on what evidence, and has any independent monitor inspected the claimed launch sites?
• Were ambassadors, or only junior consular staff, affected? How many Ethiopian staff were in Gedaref?
• Will either capital close embassies, recall ambassadors, or restrict airspace and trade?
• Have the UN Security Council or the African Union opened any formal process beyond receiving Sudan's complaints?

Sources: Al Jazeera, Nov. 4, 2026 (citing Reuters, AFP and AP); AFP via New Vision, Nov. 4; Sudan Tribune, Nov. 4-5.