Africa · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Ethiopia Closes Embassy in Asmara, Expels 10 Eritrean Diplomats as Eritrea Cuts Ties
Ethiopia closes its embassy in Asmara and expels ten Eritrean diplomats from Addis Ababa. Eritrea severs all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia in response to the actions.
Whether the blasts involved drone strikes.
7 of 9 outlets skipped it: eritrea severed ties as a response to embassy closure hours earlier.
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Reuters
“A source linked to the opposition alliance told Reuters it had carried out several drone strikes in Addis Ababa”Read the original ↗
horn review
“Today’s decision should therefore not be understood simply as another deterioration in Ethiopia–Eritrea relations.”Read the original ↗
Reuters relies on an unnamed opposition-linked source for drone-strike details, while Horn Review downplays operational specifics.
Embassy Closure, Diplomat Expulsions
Ethiopia announced the closure of its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara and ordered the expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats and an Egyptian diplomat from Addis Ababa, while Eritrea decided to cut all diplomatic relations with the Ethiopian side. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said it closed its embassy in Eritrea due to "hostile and direct and indirect actions by Eritrea against Ethiopia," and it declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa as "unwanted persons" after accusing them of participating in activities that it said "pose a direct threat to Ethiopia" national security. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry announced that a counselor at the Ethiopian embassy is an unwanted person and gave him 48 hours to leave the country as a reciprocal measure.
Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemani Kebreabkual said Ethiopia continues an "hostile agenda" against Eritrea for three years, and Eritrea said there was no option left but to cut all diplomatic relations. The African Union Commission said it is following with great concern the rising tension between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Egypt and called for maximum restraint.
Reciprocity and Diplomatic Break
Ethiopia declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata and ordered them to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours, and Ethiopia also announced that Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Muharram Ahmed Suleiman has become a "person of interest" (unwanted person) with a 48-hour departure deadline. Eritrea responded by severing all diplomatic relations and said it had "no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails." Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry framed its action as a response to Eritrea’s "direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence" against Ethiopia, and Reuters reported that Ethiopia also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave within 48 hours.R
Eritrea’s foreign ministry told Reuters, "Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails," as the diplomatic rupture followed overnight blasts heard in Addis Ababa. The Reuters account also said Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata on Thursday, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties after the blasts sparked fears about renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia spreading.R
Regional Conflict Fears
The diplomatic escalation unfolded as renewed clashes in northern Ethiopia resumed since September 23 between federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and the Ethiopian government accused the Front of attacking Afar and Amhara regions and taking airports in Tigray region. Al Jazeera’s correspondent Mohammed Taha Tokol reported that Ethiopia’s decision represented the closing of the last direct diplomatic contact channels between the two countries, and he linked it to accusations in the Afar region of Eritrea’s direct involvement and support for the "Popular Front Alliance for Survival". Reuters said Ethiopia accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and it added that the three countries deny the accusation.R
France 24 reported that the Ethiopian government accused Eritrea of backing the rebel group, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which launched a major assault against government forces last week, raising fears of a return to the 2020-2022 civil war that killed an estimated 600,000 people. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had registered more than 420 wounded at Korem and Alamata hospitals in Tigray by September 25, and more than 300 at Shire in western Tigray, as the diplomatic rupture raised fears of wider regional consequences.