Ethiopia Reportedly Expels Sudan’s Assosa Consulate Staff as Sudan’s Army Says It Downed Another Drone From Ethiopia
Ethiopia has closed Sudan’s consulate in Assosa, declared its staff persona non grata and given them 48 hours to leave the country, according to Sudanese sources quoted by several outlets on 2 and 3 November 2026. The move, which Addis Ababa has not publicly explained, came hours after Sudan filed formal complaints against Ethiopia at the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council over drone attacks it says are launched from Ethiopian soil. On Tuesday 3 November, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said its air defences had shot down another “hostile strategic drone” over Blue Nile State after it crossed the border from Ethiopia.
Taken together, the three steps mark the sharpest point yet in a dispute that has moved from accusations at the UN to diplomatic expulsions in under three weeks. No independent evidence has been published that confirms where the drones were launched from, and Ethiopia has previously denied supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
What Sudan’s army says it shot down
The SAF spokesperson’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that air defences in Blue Nile State brought down a “strategic enemy drone” that had “crossed the border from Ethiopia”. The army did not name the operator, the drone type, its target or where it fell, and released no wreckage images with the statement, Anadolu Agency and TRT World reported. There was no immediate Ethiopian comment.
The statement came the morning after a separate SAF release saying air defences had downed an FH-95 drone south of Wad Banda in West Kordofan on Monday evening. Defence Mena covered that claim, and an unconfirmed AKINCI air-to-air kill claim around it, here. In October the army made a similar claim about a drone crossing from Ethiopia during fighting around Bakouri in Blue Nile (our report).
The term “strategic drone” is used by both Sudanese sides for larger, longer-range medium-altitude aircraft, as opposed to small quadcopters or one-way attack munitions. Without the type or images, the claim cannot be checked.
The consulate closure: what is reported and what is not
The closure was first reported by Sudanese sources speaking to RT Arabic and was then carried by Saudi daily Sabq, Sudan Independent and others. All accounts agree on three points: the consulate in Assosa has been shut, its staff have been declared persona non grata, and they have 48 hours to leave Ethiopia. Sudan Independent says the decision came hours after Khartoum’s complaint to the Security Council.
Defence Mena found no public statement from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the decision or giving its reasons as of Tuesday afternoon. Sudan’s foreign ministry had not publicly responded either. Until one side confirms it on the record, the expulsion should be treated as reported rather than officially announced.
The location matters. Assosa is the capital of Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, close to Sudan’s Blue Nile State, and Assosa airport is one of the launch sites Sudan names in its drone accusations. A consulate there was Khartoum’s closest diplomatic post to the area it says the attacks come from.
Sudan’s complaint to the UN and the AU
In a statement late on Sunday 1 November, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had filed complaints with the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council. It accused the RSF of using Ethiopian territory to launch explosive-laden and missile-armed drones at civilian sites and power stations in several Sudanese states, and said it had submitted documents it says prove this, Anadolu reported. The ministry said the attacks “place Ethiopia before international law”.
Al Jazeera reported that a report from the army-led Transitional Sovereignty Council, released alongside the complaint, counted 70 assaults involving 187 one-way attack drones between 15 February and 27 October, and said they killed or wounded 484 civilians, killed 176 soldiers and wounded 200 more. It named launch sites at Assosa airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar. These are Sudanese government figures and have not been independently verified. Earlier Sudanese counts, including the figure of 162 attacks given by the army on 30 October, are covered in our earlier report; the totals differ because they use different periods and categories.
Ethiopia has rejected earlier Sudanese accusations. The two governments traded drone and arms-smuggling charges at the Security Council in October (background).
Why it matters
The dispute is no longer only bilateral. On 2 November Egypt and Sudan issued a joint statement in Cairo condemning drone attacks on Sudan’s infrastructure “launched from a neighbouring country” and saying Egypt is ready to act under the two countries’ Joint Defence Agreement to protect its red lines in Sudan (our analysis). Drone strikes on power stations in northern Sudan days earlier led the cabinet to order “maximum alert” (report).
Ethiopia is meanwhile fighting on its northern front again. Renewed clashes between federal forces and Tigrayan fighters have been reported since late September, and the WHO has condemned drone strikes on displaced civilians in Amhara and Tigray. Sabq notes that Ethiopia also closed its embassy in Asmara and expelled ten Eritrean diplomats before Eritrea cut ties. A closed consulate on the Sudanese border adds a third strained frontier.
For military watchers, the practical question is whether Sudan’s air defences in Blue Nile are getting better at intercepting larger drones, or whether the army is publicising more of the kills it already made. The SAF has issued shoot-down statements on two consecutive days, but has not released the evidence that would let outsiders tell the difference. For a profile of Ethiopia’s own drone fleet, see Ethiopia’s military drones.
Sources
- Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson statement, 3 November 2026, as reported by Anadolu Agency, TRT World, Sudan Horizon and SudaNews
- Consulate closure: Sabq (citing Sudanese sources to RT), Sudan Independent, SEE News
- Sudan’s UN and AU complaints: Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera
