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Ethiopia and Eritrea have severed diplomatic relations following a sharp deterioration in ties and renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia, raising concerns over a wider regional conflict.
Ethiopia announced on Thursday that it was closing its embassy in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.
According to BBC, the Ethiopian government accused the diplomats of activities it said threatened national security.
Eritrea responded by cutting diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, saying Addis Ababa’s decision left it with no option but to take reciprocal action.
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“Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia,” the Eritrean Foreign Ministry said, warning of “negative corollaries” from the decision.
Eritrea described Ethiopia’s decision to expel its ambassador as “astounding”.
The diplomatic confrontation came hours after powerful explosions were heard overnight in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, including in the vicinity of the country’s military headquarters.
The latest developments follow a sharp deterioration in relations between the two neighbouring countries, with Ethiopia accusing Eritrea of supporting a new rebel alliance.
Asmara has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian federal forces are battling fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies in parts of the northern regions of Tigray, Afar and Amhara.
The renewed fighting has heightened concerns over the potential for the conflict to spill across borders and further destabilise the Horn of Africa.
The diplomatic tensions have also extended to Egypt, with Ethiopia expelling an Egyptian diplomat and giving him 48 hours to leave the country, according to Ethiopian state media.
The Ethiopian Government has not publicly provided a reason for the expulsion.
Egypt subsequently ordered an Ethiopian embassy official to leave within the same timeframe, according to state-affiliated Al Qahera News.
Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have been strained for years, largely over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
Egypt, which depends heavily on the Nile for its water supplies, has repeatedly raised concerns over the dam’s potential impact on the flow of water reaching the country.
The latest diplomatic expulsions add another layer to the regional tensions as fighting continues in northern Ethiopia.
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