Chad declared four Sudanese diplomats “persona non grata” on Sunday and ordered them to leave the country within 72 hours in response to a statement from Yasser Al-Atta, a member of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, which alleged the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been interfering with the ongoing Sudanese conflict through Central Africa and Chad.

Al-Atta’s November 28 statement criticized the UAE for providing military supplies to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war with the Sudanese army. He further alleged that the weapons were transported via the Entebbe Airport in Uganda and Central Africa and that the UAE’s aircraft were able to land at the Umm Djeres Airport in Chad with the knowledge of influential figures in the Chadian government. The Al-Atta went on to state:

We respect the Chadian people. They are a brotherly people with whom we have ties of blood, religion, and language, but within them are some mercenary agents and traitors to the African peoples, and they are agents of modern colonialism.

The Chad government has called the allegations “grave statements that lacks any basis.” In response, it ordered four Sudanese diplomats, including the embassy’s first counselor, the defense attache and two consuls, to leave the country within 72 hours. Following Chad’s expulsion of the Sundanese diplomats, the Sudanese government also declared three diplomats from Chad “persona non grata” and asked them to leave the country within 72 hours. 

Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provides a receiving state with the power to:

[A]t any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable.