Ethiopia and Eritrea sever diplomatic ties, expel diplomats over Tigray conflict tensions
Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic ties on Thursday, with Addis Ababa closing its embassy in Asmara and expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats, accusing them of threatening national security. Eritrea’s foreign ministry responded by announcing it would cut all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, calling Addis Ababa’s move “astounding” and warning of “negative corollaries.”
The breakdown follows Ethiopia’s accusation that Eritrea is supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which launched an offensive in late September in the Amhara and Afar regions bordering Tigray. Ethiopia’s government stated the expelled diplomats “pose a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security.” Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel denied the allegations in a rare interview with the BBC.
The diplomatic rupture comes amid renewed fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and the TPLF, which last month formed an alliance with six other armed groups, including the Amhara-based Fano militia, aiming to oust Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. A pro-government militia commander in Tigray told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers had been seen on the front lines, though the claim has not been independently verified.
The two countries restored diplomatic relations in 2018 after a border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed around 80,000 people. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a three-decade conflict. The African Union previously estimated that the 2020–2022 Tigray war killed at least 600,000 people, though a peace deal failed to implement key provisions such as TPLF disarmament and the return of displaced civilians.
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