Ethiopia and Eritrea have severed diplomatic relations, marking a dramatic rupture between the neighbouring states as renewed warfare in northern Ethiopia fuels fears that the region could be drawn into a much wider conflict.
The breakdown unfolded on Thursday, when Ethiopia announced it was closing its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and gave 10 Eritrean diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Addis Ababa accused the diplomats of engaging in activities that constituted a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security. Eritrea responded hours later by announcing that it was cutting all diplomatic ties, saying Ethiopia's move had left it with no alternative but to act in kind.
Eritrea's foreign ministry described Ethiopia's decision as "astounding" and warned of "negative corollaries" flowing from the rupture, though it did not spell out what those consequences might be. The reciprocal expulsions and embassy closures amount to the most serious diplomatic breach between the two countries in years, reversing a brief period of alignment during the Tigray war.
The confrontation came just hours after powerful explosions were heard overnight in Addis Ababa, including in the vicinity of Ethiopia's military intelligence headquarters. Residents in two parts of the capital separately told the BBC they heard loud blasts during the night, with one person near the intelligence compound saying the explosion was strong enough to set off car alarms. A source linked to an opposition alliance told Reuters that its forces had launched drone attacks in the capital, but Ethiopian authorities have not confirmed the cause of the explosions, and no official casualties or major damage have been reported.
The blasts followed a decision by Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service to impose an indefinite ban on drone flights over Addis Ababa and the surrounding area. The agency said the measure was needed to protect senior officials, critical infrastructure and public gatherings. The timing of the explosions, coming so soon after the flight restriction, has added to the atmosphere of uncertainty in the capital.
At the heart of the crisis is the renewed fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has joined six other armed movements in an alliance whose stated goal is to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government from power. The coalition includes the Fano militia from the Amhara region. Combat has spread across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara, with federal forces and their allies reportedly making gains in southern Tigray and advancing towards Mekelle, the regional capital.
The human cost is mounting. In Alamata, a doctor told the BBC earlier this week that at least 52 civilians had been killed during three days of intense fighting. In neighbouring Afar, which sits along Ethiopia's vital transport corridor to Djibouti and the sea, the TPLF has also been engaged in combat, and tens of thousands of people are estimated to have fled their homes. The latest hostilities are the most severe since a peace agreement in 2022 ended the devastating two-year Tigray war, during which an African Union mediator estimated that around 600,000 people died.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the armed alliance fighting its government, an allegation Asmara has repeatedly denied. A pro-government militia commander fighting in Tigray told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers had been involved on the front lines, though the BBC has not independently verified that claim. In a rare interview with the BBC conducted before diplomatic relations were severed, Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel rejected the accusations, saying Ethiopia's governing Prosperity Party was blaming neighbouring countries in order to divert attention from conflicts and other internal problems.
The two countries were once allies in the Tigray war, when Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces against the TPLF. That cooperation has since unravelled, with relations deteriorating sharply over Ethiopia's push for direct access to the Red Sea. Landlocked Ethiopia lost its coastline in 1993 when Eritrea became independent, and Abiy has repeatedly argued that sea access is essential to Ethiopia's long-term economic and security interests. Asmara has accused his government of harbouring ambitions over its ports and of pursuing an increasingly hostile policy on the Red Sea issue.
Both sides blame each other for starting the current round of hostilities. Tigrayan authorities say their forces were responding to a federal offensive and drone strikes, while Addis Ababa says Tigrayan fighters launched attacks after taking control of federally administered airports in Tigray. Independent verification remains difficult given restricted access to the conflict zones and the tightening of information controls in the capital.
The severing of ties carries significant implications for a region still scarred by the 2020-2022 war. A full diplomatic break removes the few remaining channels for communication between two governments that once fought side by side and now accuse each other of aggression. It also heightens the risk that the northern conflict could draw in Eritrea directly, turning an internal Ethiopian war into a broader regional confrontation.
For civilians caught in the crossfire, the collapse of relations offers little prospect of relief. Aid access is already constrained, displacement is rising, and the drone ban in the capital suggests authorities are bracing for further attacks. With mediation efforts stalled and both sides trading accusations, the path back to dialogue appears increasingly narrow, and the region now faces the prospect of a prolonged and destabilising conflict.
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