Ethiopia army chief accuses Egypt and Sudan

Ethiopia's army chief accused Egypt and Sudan on Sunday of backing an armed alliance seeking to oust Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, raising the risk of cross-border escalation.

Army chief names Egypt and Sudan

Officials said the claim pulls long-running diplomatic disputes into the crisis, layering external rivalry onto an internal conflict. Neighbouring Eritrea has previously been linked to the fighting by Addis Ababa, and the new accusation expands the list of states the government now treats as interlocutors in the campaign, officials said.

If the allegation prompts reciprocal steps by the accused capitals, officials warned, the mechanism would be a rapid hardening of border postures and diplomatic ruptures that could produce isolated skirmishes and complicate mediation. If instead the accused states deny involvement and engage in quiet talks, the dispute may stay rhetorical. Watch for official statements and troop movements over the next 48 hours as the immediate signal of whether tensions will escalate or moderate.

The military statement, read by the chief of staff, said the allegation followed renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia between federal forces and the alliance. The army chief framed the charge as part of a coordinated effort to destabilize the government, the statement said.