South Sudan on Monday denied a report of its head of mission to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia expelled. It was in response to several media outlets’ publications on Sunday alleging that Addis Ababa asked South Sudan’s top diplomat to leave the country in 72 hours.
Speaking to Ramciel on Sunday, an official within the Ethiopia ministry of foreign affairs expresses concerns and disappointment over what he believes as a TPLF leader’s meeting with the president of Egypt on Saturday in Juba.
“Our intelligence gathered that Debretsion Gebremicheal met with the Egyptian president in Juba. Addis Ababa is interpreting this differently”, he said.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to South Sudan abruptly left the country on Friday with no reasons given by the government. South Sudan denied its top diplomat expelled. Ethiopia on Monday also confirmed the same. It turns out the Ambassador attended a celebration function gathered by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed over the capture of Mekelle by the ENDF.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuji on Monday morning, Deng Dau, the deputy South Sudan Foreign Minister denied the allegations of the TPLF leaders meeting the Egyptian president in Juba. According to Dau, the government has no time to react to “rumors, fiction, and disinformation” going around on media outlets.
“We cannot react to rumors, fiction, and disinformation. Our ambassador is in Addis and is this morning attending a diplomatic briefing with the rest of his colleagues in the office of the Prime Minister in Addis Ababa. All these are just rumors. As I said before it is disinformation and fake news and I don’t know what the intention of those who want to advance that is,” Dau said.
“The chargé d’affaires of the Ethiopian embassy is here. He has not been recalled, he has not been sent back and so these are just rumors,” he added.