Sudan denies Ethiopian accusations of backing armed groups

Sudan's armed forces on Sunday, September 28, rejected accusations from Ethiopia's military chief that Khartoum is backing an armed alliance trying to topple Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Sudan answered with a counter-charge, accusing Addis Ababa of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The accusation came from Ethiopia's Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula. He said Sudan and Egypt were supporting a newly formed coalition of armed groups opposed to the federal government. Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson Asim Awad Abdelwahab dismissed the claim. "The Sudanese Armed Forces categorically reject these allegations and consider them baseless," he said.

Khartoum then accused Ethiopia of backing the RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023. The SAF said Ethiopia has provided the RSF with training and supplies and has let Ethiopian territory be used for military drone activity. Sudan has previously accused Ethiopia of involvement in drone attacks on Khartoum airport.

The alliance at the centre of the dispute was announced last week and brings together seven groups. Among them are the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Oromo Liberation Army and the Amhara Fano National Movement. The groups say they want to remove Abiy's government and set up a transitional administration. Fighting has resumed in northern Ethiopia between Tigrayan forces and federal troops. Eritrea has also been accused of supporting the alliance, which it denies.

The row adds to existing tension in the region. Ethiopia and Egypt remain at odds over the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, and Sudan sits downstream of it. Ethiopia's naming of Cairo alongside Khartoum ties the new security accusations to that long-running water dispute.

For the Gulf, a wider conflict along the Sudan-Ethiopia border would further threaten a Horn of Africa and Red Sea region where Gulf states have major diplomatic, humanitarian and investment interests. Doha has a long record of mediation in Sudan, including the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur.