Addis Ababa, May 5 (AHN) The Ethiopian government on Tuesday rejected Sudan's recent accusation of drone strikes as "baseless."

Sudan recalled its Ambassador to Ethiopia after accusing Addis Ababa of a series of drone attacks that hit its international airport on Monday.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Mohi El-Din Salem said in a statement on Tuesday that his country is "ready to enter into an open confrontation with Ethiopia."

"The drones that attacked Sudanese facilities yesterday (Monday) were launched from Ethiopia's Bahir Dar Airport," he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sudan has the legal right to respond to the "aggression" in the manner it deems appropriate, he added. "We do not seek to initiate aggression against any country, but whoever attacks us will be responded to."

Asim Awad Abdelwahab, spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces, said in a statement that the armed forces "will respond twice as hard," noting that the army has "confirmed information regarding Ethiopia's participation in the aggression against Sudan."

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Sudan's "baseless accusations" made against it, while accusing Khartoum of violating Ethiopia's territorial integrity.

"In recognition of the fraternal ties between the two nations, the Ethiopian government has exercised restraint and refrained from publicising the grave violations of Ethiopia's territorial integrity and national security committed by some belligerents in the Sudanese civil war," the ministry said.

It said the violations include the "extensive use of the Tigray People's Liberation Front mercenaries" in the conflict, accusing the Sudanese Armed Forces of providing "arms and financial support to these mercenaries, thereby facilitating their incursions along Ethiopia's western frontier."

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people inside Sudan and abroad, according to international estimates.

In the statement, the Ethiopian government stressed the need for an immediate humanitarian truce in Sudan, followed by a sustained ceasefire and an independent, inclusive and transparent civilian-led dialogue and transition process to lay the foundation for durable peace and the restoration of civilian rule.

–AHN

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