Ethiopia Closes Asmara Embassy And Orders Ten Eritrean Diplomats Out

The Ethiopian government announced Thursday that it is shutting its embassy in Asmara and expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats from Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the 10 diplomats persona non grata. It ordered them to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours. The ministry said the decision answered direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence by Eritrea.

Ethiopian officials accused the diplomats of carrying out activities that threatened national security. The foreign ministry said those actions breached the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The statement did not publicly disclose evidence or name the specific activities involved.

Addis Ababa called on the Eritrean government to halt actions that contradict principles governing relations between sovereign states. Ethiopian authorities added that they remain committed to regional stability and historical ties between the two peoples.

The diplomatic rupture follows renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government has accused Eritrea of backing armed groups opposed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Eritrea has rejected allegations that it is interfering in Ethiopian internal affairs.

The diplomatic breakdown unravels a rapprochement achieved after decades of conflict. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war between 1998 and 2000 that killed tens of thousands of people. Relations resumed in 2018 when Abiy and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement.

Eritrean troops later fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces during the two-year civil war in Tigray that ended with a 2022 truce. Ties have steadily deteriorated since that agreement. Eritrean authorities did not immediately issue a public response to the embassy closure or the expulsion orders.

The expelled Eritrean diplomats must depart Ethiopia before the 48-hour deadline expires over the weekend.