Sudan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned Ethiopian ambassador, Yibeltal Aemeru, over his statement about Ethiopia’s downing of a plane that allegedly had come from Sudanese airspace, reported The Africa News.
In a statement, the ministry said that the ambassador had told a press conference that Ethiopian forces had shot down a plane carrying weapons for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces, which violated Ethiopian airspace through Sudan.
In a statement, Fadl Abdullah Fadl, director general of African affairs with Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, called the ambassador’s statements “unfounded allegations” and “in violation of diplomatic custom”, especially as the neighbouring countries “seek to strengthen relations”.
Last week, the Ethiopian air force announced that it shot down a plane carrying weapons to the rebel TPLF that had violated Ethiopian airspace via Sudan.
The incident came as a new round of fighting started between the Ethiopian government forces and the TPLF.
On Aug. 24, the Ethiopian government accused the TPLF of resuming fighting in the county’s northern region. Meanwhile, the TPLF reportedly said a humanitarian truce, signed in March, had been violated by government forces.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, has seen a devastating conflict between government troops and forces loyal to the rebel group since November 2020. The war has killed thousands of people so far and has left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Ethiopia had several times accused Sudan of supporting or hosting training camps for the TPLF, which has been fighting the federal government in the northern Tigray region since November 2020. Sudan continues to deny Ethiopian claims that it supports the TPLF.
The two countries are also embroiled in a dispute over the fertile al-Fashaga border region and also locked in a decade-long row over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Egypt and Sudan say they want a legally binding agreement on operating the dam, while Ethiopia wants the pact to be advisory.
