Ethiopia and Eritrea Sever Diplomatic Ties After Months of Escalating Tensions Over Tigray Conflict

Ethiopia and Eritrea have formally severed diplomatic relations, marking a dramatic collapse in ties between the two Horn of Africa neighbours as renewed fighting in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region threatens to spiral into a broader regional war.

The rupture unfolded over just two days, beginning on Thursday when Ethiopia announced it was closing its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and ordering ten Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. Addis Ababa accused the expelled diplomats of engaging in activities that "pose a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security," though it did not publicly provide detailed evidence to support the claim.

Eritrea responded late on Thursday by announcing it was cutting all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, describing Addis Ababa's decision as "astounding." In a statement, Eritrea's foreign ministry said it had "no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia," and warned of unspecified "negative corollaries" that would follow from the breakdown.

The diplomatic confrontation came just hours after powerful explosions were heard overnight in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, including near the country's military headquarters and the offices of the national intelligence service. Residents in two separate districts of the city told the BBC they heard blasts loud enough to trigger car alarms. A source linked to an opposition alliance told Reuters that its forces had carried out drone attacks in the capital, though Ethiopian authorities have not confirmed the cause of the explosions and reported no official casualties or significant damage.

The blasts occurred shortly after Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service imposed an indefinite ban on drone flights over Addis Ababa and the surrounding area, citing the need to protect senior officials, critical infrastructure and public events. That precautionary measure now appears to have been overtaken by events on the ground.

The severing of ties represents the most serious rupture between the two countries since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, following a decades-long armed struggle. Relations between the neighbours have historically been volatile, including a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed tens of thousands of people. The two countries were, however, allies during the 2020-2022 Tigray war, when Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

That wartime alliance has since unravelled, with relations deteriorating sharply — particularly over Ethiopia's persistent push for direct access to the Red Sea. Landlocked Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly argued that sea access is essential to Ethiopia's long-term economic and security interests. Eritrea has accused his government of harbouring ambitions over its ports, characterising Addis Ababa's policy as increasingly hostile.

The immediate trigger for the current crisis, however, is the renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia. Ethiopian federal forces are battling fighters from the TPLF and its allies across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara — the most serious hostilities since a peace agreement ended the devastating Tigray war in 2022. An African Union mediator previously estimated that about 600,000 people died during that two-year conflict, a figure that underscores the stakes of the current escalation.

Last month, the TPLF joined six other armed movements, including the Fano militia from Amhara, to form an alliance whose stated objective is to remove Abiy's government from power. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting that alliance — an allegation Asmara has repeatedly denied. A pro-government militia commander fighting in Tigray also told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers had been involved on the front lines, though the BBC has not independently verified the claim.

In a rare interview with the BBC before diplomatic relations were severed, Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel rejected the accusations outright. He told BBC Tigrinya that Ethiopia's governing Prosperity Party was blaming neighbouring countries in order to divert attention from conflicts and other problems within Ethiopia — a familiar tactic in the region, where governments under domestic pressure often point to external adversaries.

On the battlefield, federal forces and their allies appear to have made gains in southern Tigray and are reportedly advancing towards Mekelle, the regional capital. In Alamata, a doctor told the BBC earlier this week that at least 52 civilians had been killed during three days of intense fighting — a toll that illustrates the heavy price being paid by non-combatants.

The TPLF has also been fighting in neighbouring Afar, which lies along Ethiopia's crucial transport corridor to Djibouti and the sea. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have fled their homes there, adding to what is already a severe humanitarian crisis in a region still recovering from the previous war.

Both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF accuse the other of starting the latest 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 of events on the ground remains difficult, with access to conflict zones tightly restricted and communications frequently disrupted.

The collapse of Ethiopia-Eritrea relations removes any remaining diplomatic channel that might have helped contain the crisis. With regional mediators including the African Union now facing a far more complex conflict environment, and with fighting spreading across multiple regions, the danger of a wider war — drawing in Eritrea and potentially other neighbours — has grown substantially. For ordinary civilians caught between advancing forces and airstrikes, the immediate outlook is grim: displacement, hunger and the prospect of another prolonged conflict in a region that has already endured so much.