Ethiopia and Eritrea Cut Diplomatic Ties as Tigray Fighting Intensifies

Ethiopia and Eritrea have severed diplomatic relations as renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia raises fears of a return to the devastating Tigray war.

Ethiopia accused Eritrea of backing the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and said the group had launched attacks into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions. Addis Ababa said it would expel 10 Eritrean diplomats and close its embassy in Asmara.

Eritrea said it had “no option” but to reciprocate, announcing that it would also cut diplomatic ties. The diplomatic breakdown marks a sharp deterioration between the two countries, whose relations improved in 2018 under Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Fighting and displacement

Reports of renewed clashes in Tigray have been accompanied by accounts of deaths, injuries and displacement. More than 700 wounded people had been treated at hospitals in several parts of the region, according to Doctors Without Borders.

Unspecified reports said hundreds of people had been killed or wounded since fighting resumed the previous week, while aid groups reported that thousands had been displaced.

Government-aligned forces said they had retaken several towns from Tigrayan fighters. Independent verification of that claim remained difficult because access to the affected areas was restricted and communications were disrupted.

Explosion in Addis Ababa

An explosion also occurred at the Ethiopian military headquarters in Addis Ababa, raising concerns that the conflict could spread towards the capital. The cause of the blast and whether it caused any casualties remained unclear.

The latest crisis is increasing regional tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which fought a border war from 1998 to 2000. The two countries later moved towards improved relations before the current diplomatic rupture.