Ethiopia and Eritrea cut ties; Egypt expels an Ethiopian
Addis Ababa closed its embassy in Asmara and Eritrea severed all relations. The dispute over support for Tigray rebels has now reached Cairo.
Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara on Thursday, October 1, and gave ten Eritrean diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, Reuters reported, in a text carried by Nation Africa. Its foreign ministry cited "direct and indirect acts of hostility" by Eritrea. Eritrea responded the same day by cutting relations entirely.
Eritrea's foreign ministry said it had no choice but to "respond in kind." According to the BBC, via Yahoo News, its information minister argued that the Ethiopian government blames its neighbors to divert attention.
The crisis spread to Egypt: Ethiopia expelled an Egyptian diplomat with the same 48-hour deadline, and Cairo answered by expelling a counselor at the Ethiopian embassy. Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Nader Zaki summed it up, according to Reuters: "Reciprocity is the currency of diplomacy."
Behind it is an accusation Addis Ababa has repeated for weeks: that Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt back the armed alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). All three deny it. El Mediático has reported that the head of the Ethiopian army pointed at those neighbors after the capture of Erebti.
The move came a few hours after explosions were heard at night in the capital, some near military headquarters. Opposition sources spoke of drone attacks, which would be the first against Addis Ababa. According to the BBC, there is no independent confirmation.
In 2018 the two countries restored diplomatic ties, and for that thaw Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. The current fighting is the most serious since the 2020 to 2022 war in Tigray. The BBC counts at least 52 civilians dead in three days of fighting around Alamata.
From the African Union, its Commission urged the three governments to settle the dispute through dialogue and diplomatic channels, according to CNBC Africa. The deadline for the diplomats to leave expires this Saturday, October 3.
