Eritrea cuts ties with Ethiopia after embassy closure decision — Asharq Al-Awsat
Eritrea has severed diplomatic relations with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa decided to close its embassy in Asmara and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats personae non gratae. They were ordered to leave the country within 48 hours, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
Embassy closures
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said it had decided to close its diplomatic mission in Eritrea because of Asmara’s direct and indirect hostile and aggressive actions. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters that the expulsion of all Eritrean diplomats effectively means the closure of the country’s embassy in Addis Ababa.
Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry said the country had no choice but to respond in kind and terminate all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia.
Escalation amid fighting
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea and Sudan of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has been fighting federal government forces since last week. Eritrea and Sudan deny the allegations.
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The diplomatic moves came after overnight explosions in Addis Ababa. A source linked to the opposition alliance told Reuters about several drone strikes in the capital, including against military headquarters. Three diplomatic sources confirmed the explosions, but witnesses saw no damage near the military base. Representatives of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front did not respond to requests for comment.
Ethiopia’s National Intelligence Service has banned drone flights over Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, Ethiopian authorities also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave within 48 hours. Egypt, according to the state television channel Al Qahera News, responded by expelling a counselor at Ethiopia’s embassy.
Ethiopia’s embassy in Eritrea resumed operations in 2018 after the two states moved closer together. During the 2020–2022 war, Eritrean and Ethiopian forces fought together against the TPLF, but relations between the countries deteriorated after the 2022 peace agreement.
