The Ethiopian decision concerned Ethiopia’s embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and included an order to expel ten Eritrean diplomatic representatives. Asmara’s response turned the diplomatic crisis into a formal rupture in relations between the two countries.
According to Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry, the measures were adopted in response to direct and indirect acts of hostility attributed to Eritrea. Deutsche Welle also reports that Asmara said it had no choice but to reciprocate.
The rupture took place as international sources described a resumption of fighting or a new rebel offensive in northern Ethiopia, including the Tigray area. The same sources agree on the conflict context, but offer differing descriptions of the extent of the clashes and the actors involved.
Ethiopia accused Eritrea of supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front or a new anti-government rebel alliance, according to reports by South China Morning Post, RFI and EL PAÍS. However, this accusation has not been independently verified in the available material.
The deterioration in relations marks a new critical stage between two countries that had been involved in the same conflict in Tigray and that are now opposed within the framework of the new military escalation. The concrete scope of the clashes and their consequences remain undetermined by the available information.
Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle report that analysts and observers have warned of the possible risk of destabilization in neighboring countries, including Sudan, or of the conflict expanding into a regional war. These are assessments and concerns, not confirmation that such an expansion has already occurred.
For now, the confirmed fact is the severing of diplomatic relations, accompanied by the closure of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara and the expulsion of the Eritrean diplomats. The allegations concerning support for rebel forces and the development of the conflict in northern Ethiopia remain to be verified.