Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and expelled ten Eritrean diplomats on Thursday, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties. The diplomatic rupture unfolded hours after overnight explosions rocked Addis Ababa, as renewed heavy fighting between federal forces and an armed opposition alliance intensified across northern Ethiopia.
The rapid breakdown marks one of the most severe crises between the two Horn of Africa neighbors since their historic 2018 rapprochement. Citing hostile and belligerent actions—both direct and indirect—by Eritrea against Ethiopia, the nation’s foreign ministry made public its choice to shut down its diplomatic mission in Asmara, Eritrea.
At the same time, federal authorities declared ten Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata
and gave them forty-eight hours to leave the country. The foreign ministry accused those diplomats of involvement in activities that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security. According to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, the measures included a charge d’affaires and other personnel accredited to the African Union.
Asmara Responds to Expulsions and Severs Diplomatic Channels
Eritrea’s government rejected the allegations and retaliated immediately.
Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eritrea via Al Jazeera and Reuters
The diplomatic rupture follows years of deteriorating relations after an initial thaw under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose 2018 peace efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. Following decades of animosity that stemmed from the 1998–2000 border war, the 2018 thaw orchestrated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki successfully revived ties, bridging past divides after Eritrea’s current leader had previously steered the armed independence movement that achieved statehood in 1993.
Asmara has said it fears Addis Ababa will try to take its Assab port by force.
Explosions in Addis Ababa and Renewed Conflict Across Northern Ethiopia
The diplomatic collapse coincided with a volatile security situation inside the capital and along northern front lines. Security sources confirmed that three blasts occurred in three different locations in Addis Ababa overnight following a government ban on drone flights over the city. The AFP news agency reported that an explosion took place at the Ethiopian National Defense Force headquarters between midnight and 1:00 am local time, citing diplomatic and security sources. An intelligence service official confirmed three blasts in three different locations overnight, while a diplomatic source described hearing a blast at 7 p.m. near the defense headquarters followed by a siren. An opposition source suggested drone strikes were carried out in Addis Ababa.
Federal forces have faced an opposition coalition spearheaded by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, with Addis Ababa claiming that Sudan, Egypt, and Eritrea are backing the rebel alliance. Soon after the latest hostilities erupted, Haji Awol Arba—the top administrator of the northern Afar region—informed Al Jazeera that Eritrean troops had crossed the border into Afar to reinforce the opposition’s assault. The three countries deny the accusation.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported that by September 25, its teams had logged upward of 420 trauma cases at hospitals in Korem and Alamata within Tigray, alongside more than 300 injured individuals treated at Shire located in western Tigray.
Tit-for-Tat Diplomatic Actions Involving Egypt
The fallout extended beyond Asmara when Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry also targeted Egyptian diplomatic personnel. The ministry notified the Egyptian Embassy that Ahmed Moharam Ahmed Soliman had been declared persona non grata under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and ordered him to depart within forty-eight hours.
Cairo responded swiftly under the principle of reciprocity, with the state news agency MENA reporting that Egypt declared an Ethiopian diplomat persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave. A senior Egyptian official told MENA that Egypt firmly rejects interference in other countries’ internal affairs and maintains a policy of refraining from commenting on domestic developments in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. The official identified the counselor ordered to leave as Egazi Emelo Borougi, while the state-affiliated Al Qahera News also reported on the retaliation.
The Egyptian official criticized Addis Ababa’s leadership, stating that The Ethiopian side has a history of attributing its failures in managing its internal affairs and its successive crises to alleged foreign interference, thereby concealing its ongoing problems.
African Union Appeal for De-Escalation
Fears that the localized conflict could spiral into a wider regional war prompted an immediate appeal from continental leadership.
The Commission urges the three countries to address their differences through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue.
African Union Commission, via Reuters and Marketscreener
The commission expressed its readiness, following consultations with the countries concerned, to support de-escalation, dialogue, and a peaceful settlement of differences in accordance with the principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
The crisis is increasingly taking on a regional dimension, with potential consequences affecting Tigray, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, and the wider Red Sea security environment.
Ordinary civilians are bearing the brunt of this violence, as humanitarian organizations report new casualties and displacement.
The United Nations has called for a de-escalation of the fighting and for talks between the government and the recently formed alliance.
Reporting by George Obulutsa and Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman.
