Eritrea Breaks Diplomatic Ties with Ethiopia as Northern Fighting Escalates

Eritrea has announced that it is severing diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, deepening a crisis that has unfolded alongside renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia.

The announcement followed Ethiopia’s decision to close its embassy in Asmara and expel 10 Eritrean diplomats. Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ethiopia’s actions left it with “no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia”.

The diplomatic breakdown came as Ethiopian federal troops fought a Tigrayan-led opposition alliance in parts of the north. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting armed groups opposed to its government, while Asmara has rejected Ethiopia’s allegations and accused Addis Ababa of pursuing what it described as an “agenda of incessant hostility”.

Fighting across three regions

The clashes, concentrated in Tigray, Amhara and Afar, have been described as Ethiopia’s most serious violence since the country’s 2020–2022 civil war.

Mohammed Taha Tawakel, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Ethiopia, reported that forces loyal to the federal government had made significant gains in Tigray, seized several towns and moved closer to Mekelle. He also said rebel forces retained a “strong rear link with Eritrea” along the countries’ border.

A pro-government armed group in Afar claimed it had recaptured Erebti and said it would continue advancing. The group credited the Ethiopian military with “magnificent air support”. The battlefield claims have not all been independently verified.

An explosion was also reported at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Defence in Addis Ababa. A diplomatic source quoted by AFP said small drones were the most probable cause, although the cause was not confirmed.

Regional tensions

Analysts have warned that the fighting could spread beyond Ethiopia’s borders, particularly into Sudan.

Ahmed Soliman of Chatham House said the conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan had become increasingly interconnected, with the Ethiopian government and Sudanese Armed Forces accusing each other of harbouring and equipping opposition forces from their respective territories.

Sudan’s military-backed government has accused Ethiopia of supporting rebel forces involved in Sudan’s civil conflict. Ethiopia rejects that allegation. The Ethiopian government has also accused Egypt and Sudan of joining Eritrea in supporting Tigrayan rebel forces, a claim that has not been independently verified.

Egypt has separately entered the diplomatic dispute. Egyptian state-linked media reported that Cairo ordered an Ethiopian diplomat to leave after Addis Ababa expelled an Egyptian diplomat. Ethiopia and Egypt have long disagreed over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Nile water security.

Laura Hammond of SOAS University of London said there was a strong possibility Eritrea could become more directly involved in fighting inside Tigray if the conflict continued. She also warned that the violence could worsen relations with and inside Sudan.

Martin Plaut, an analyst specialising in the Horn of Africa, described the risk of regional escalation as a “real danger”, saying the situation was highly tense and could engulf Ethiopia, Eritrea and neighbouring Sudan.

A fragile relationship

Ethiopia and Eritrea have a long history of strained relations. Ethiopia annexed Eritrea in 1962, while Eritrea secured independence in 1993 after an armed struggle led by Isaias Afwerki. The countries fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.

Relations improved after Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s prime minister in 2018 and pursued normalisation with Eritrea. Eritrea later backed Ethiopia’s government during the 2020–2022 war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which leads the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival.

Recent tensions have also been linked by analysts to Ethiopia’s efforts to secure direct access to the Red Sea. With diplomatic ties now severed and fighting continuing in northern Ethiopia, the extent of Eritrea’s involvement and the risk of further regional spillover remain disputed.