KHARTOUM: Sudan has recalled its ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia, the foreign ministry said Sunday, reporting Addis Ababa had spurned its efforts at trying to broker a cease-fire in war-torn Tigray.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, chair of the regional body IGAD, wanted 鈥渢o encourage all Ethiopian sides to reach a cease-fire agreement, and engage in comprehensive political talks,鈥� the ministry said in a statement.

But last week Ethiopia said their trust in some of Sudan鈥檚 leaders had been 鈥渆roded,鈥� and accused the Sudanese army of launching an 鈥渋ncursion鈥� into their territory.

Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by fighting since last November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to topple the Tigray People鈥檚 Liberation Front (TPLF), the region鈥檚 then ruling party.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have fled to refugee camps in Sudan, to escape a conflict that the UN says has pushed 400,000 people into famine-like conditions.

Relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa have also soured over the contested border region of Fashaga, a fertile strip long cultivated by Ethiopian farmers, but claimed by Sudan.

Billene Seyoum, spokeswoman for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the issue 鈥渘eeds to be thoroughly addressed, before Sudan could be entertained as a credible party in terms of facilitating such kind of negotiations.鈥�

Sudan鈥檚 foreign ministry on Sunday said it had 鈥渇ollowed statements made by senior Ethiopian officials refusing Sudan鈥檚 help to end the bloody conflict in Tigray, citing a lack of neutrality and (Sudan鈥檚) occupation of Ethiopian territories,鈥� the ministry statement read.

It dismissed the statements as 鈥渁llegations with no basis,鈥� adding that 鈥淪udan has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations.鈥�

The two countries are also at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the center of a regional dispute ever since Addis Ababa broke ground on the project in 2011.

Downstream nations Egypt and Sudan both fear the Blue Nile mega-dam threatens the waters they depend on.