Eritrea severs diplomatic ties with Ethiopia in tit-for-tat move

What Happened

Eritrea announced on Thursday that it was severing all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, a move it described as reciprocal after Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would close its embassy in Asmara and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa — including the charge d’affaires and others accredited to the African Union — persona non grata. Ethiopia said the diplomats were involved in activities posing a direct threat to its national security and must leave within 48 hours, citing Eritrea’s “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence.” Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry called the accusation “astounding” and accused Ethiopia of pursuing hostility over Red Sea access and of hosting, training and arming Eritrean opposition groups. The diplomatic break comes as fighting intensifies between Ethiopian federal forces and an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Explosions were heard in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and Thursday, and fighters clashed with government forces in the northern Afar region. Afar chief administrator Haji Awol Arba told Al Jazeera that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into Afar to join the alliance’s offensive, a claim Eritrea has not publicly addressed. Addis Ababa separately accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the TPLF-led alliance.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The rupture formalises the breakdown of a 2018 rapprochement between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki, which had already eroded after Eritrea was excluded from the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement ending the Tigray war. With Ethiopia already accusing Sudan and Egypt of backing the TPLF-led alliance, the diplomatic severance raises the risk of a wider regional confrontation at a moment when landlocked Ethiopia's demand for Red Sea access has strained relations across the Horn of Africa. It also complicates any mediation effort and could push Eritrea toward deeper involvement in Afar.

Watch For

Monitor whether the 10 Eritrean diplomats depart Addis Ababa within the declared 48-hour deadline and whether Ethiopia completes the embassy closure in Asmara. Watch for further explosions in Addis Ababa and fighting in northern Afar, as well as any independent confirmation of Eritrean troop movements across the Afar border. Statements from the African Union, which has accredited Eritrean diplomats, and any responses from Sudan or Egypt to Ethiopia's accusations are also key; a regional meeting or UN Security Council discussion could indicate whether diplomatic efforts are underway.