ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic relations Thursday as renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia raised fears of a wider Horn of Africa conflict, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported.
Ethiopia announced it was closing its embassy in Asmara and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats — including the charge d’affaires and African Union–accredited staff — persona non grata, ordering them to leave within 48 hours over alleged activities threatening national security. Eritrea’s foreign ministry said it had “no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties,” warning of “negative corollaries.” Addis Ababa also expelled an Egyptian diplomat; Cairo answered in kind, according to regional wire reports.
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing an opposition alliance that includes Tigray People’s Liberation Front–linked forces fighting federal troops across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara — charges Asmara denies. The neighbours fought side by side against the TPLF in 2020–2022, but Eritrea was not party to the Pretoria peace deal and relations soured, including over Ethiopia’s Red Sea access ambitions. The African Union urged restraint. Doctors Without Borders said more than 700 wounded had been treated at Tigray hospitals as the fighting intensified.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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