Sudan: 15 UAE Diplomats Declared Persona Non Grata

On Sunday, Sudan declared 15 diplomats from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within 48 hours, official SUNA news agency reported. 

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According to the SUNA, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the acting UAE Chargé d'affaires in Sudan Badriya Al-Shahi, and informed her of the Sudanese government's decision, which came after Abu Dhabi's previous move to deport three Sudanese diplomats in the UAE.

On Saturday, the UAE reportedly informed the Sudanese ambassador in Abu Dhabi of the decision to declare three senior Sudanese diplomats (the defense attaché, his deputy, and the cultural attaché) persona non grata, and leave the UAE territory.

Furthermore, late last month, Yasir Al-Atta, assistant commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), accused the UAE of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the SAF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15. Abu Dhabi denies the accusation.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 12,000 people have been killed so far in the clashes between the two sides, while 6.6 million others have been displaced inside and outside Sudan.

Since May 6, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been sponsoring talks between the Sudanese warring parties in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah. 

Several truces have been reached since then, but both sides have accused each other of violating them.