Ethiopia Breaks Diplomatic Relations with Eritrea and Egypt as Tigray Conflict Escalates

Eritrea's foreign ministry announced on Thursday that it will sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, marking a sharp escalation of the regional crisis stemming from renewed fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. This announcement followed Ethiopia's decision to close its embassy in Asmara and expel ten Eritrean diplomats, with Addis Ababa accusing Eritrea of financing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the group leading a new offensive into the Afar and Amhara regions. Ethiopia also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata, ordering them to leave within 48 hours, further straining relations with Cairo, which has been at odds with Addis Ababa over its Nile mega-dam.

According to Reuters and AFP, explosions believed to be caused by drone strikes were heard overnight in the capital, Addis Ababa, including near the headquarters of the Ethiopian National Defence Force, several days after drone flights were banned over the city. A source linked to opposition fighters claimed responsibility for the strikes, though this was not independently confirmed. Meanwhile, Ethiopian government forces and allied militias reported that they had retaken the towns of Abala, Erebti and Megale in the Afar region from TPLF fighters as part of a counter-offensive advancing towards the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle.

The African Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa, said it was following the situation with concern and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint. Eritrea has previously denied backing the TPLF-led alliance, while the group's leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, described the fighting as a conflict with regional implications concerning the Red Sea.