Sudan summons Ethiopian ambassador over alleged downed plane

August 30, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan summoned Ethiopia’s ambassador to Khartoum to protest press statements he made about the alleged shot down of a plane loaded with weapons to insurgents in the Tigray region.

On August 29, the Ethiopian Ambassador in Sudan held a press conference to reiterate the accuracy of the statement issued by the Ethiopian air force five days earlier about a plane that violated the Ethiopian air space after crossing the border from Sudan.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Sudanese foreign ministry said that Ambassador Yibeltal Aemero Alemu was summoned to denounce his statements to the local media, where he claimed that the Ethiopian army downed this unidentified plane.

“These unfounded allegations violate the diplomatic traditions in communicating with the official authorities in the receiving country,” Director General of African Affairs, Ambassador Fadl Abdallah Fadl told Ambassador Alemu, according to the statement.

The foreign ministry meant to limit its protest to the fact that the Ethiopian diplomat did not communicate with the foreign ministry over the plane, but preferred to hold a press conference.

Nonetheless, this is the first time that the Sudanese government describes the Ethiopian statement about the downed plane on August 24 as “unfounded allegations”.

Last week, several Sudanese officials privately played down the Ethiopian statement about the plane. Also, the Sudanese government did not officially react to the allegation.

Ethiopia had several times accused Sudan of supporting or hosting training camps for the TPLF.

(ST)