Ethiopia closes its embassy in Eritrea and expels ten diplomats amid escalating tensions.

Ethiopia has officially shuttered its embassy in Asmara and ordered the expulsion of ten Eritrean diplomats, marking a severe escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two Horn of Africa neighbours. The announcement follows a formal accusation by Addis Ababa alleging that the Eritrean government has been covertly financing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a group that fought a devastating two-year war against the federal government before a peace agreement was reached in late 2022.

The closure of the embassy effectively severs formal diplomatic channels that were painstakingly restored following a historic 2018 rapprochement. That reconciliation ended a decades-long state of war stemming from the 1998–2000 border conflict and earned Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the fragile peace has steadily deteriorated in the wake of the Tigray conflict, during which Eritrean forces fought alongside the Ethiopian federal military against TPLF fighters, only to remain stationed in parts of northern Ethiopia long after the Pretoria Agreement was signed.

Relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have grown increasingly complex as Ethiopia recalibrates its regional security priorities and pursues sovereign access to the Red Sea—a stated strategic goal that has alarmed Asmara. The latest allegations regarding the TPLF suggest that the underlying structural grievances and proxy rivalries in the borderlands have not been resolved, despite the cessation of major conventional combat. By accusing Eritrea of backing its former arch-nemesis, the Ethiopian administration is signaling that it views Asmara's regional posture as a direct threat to its internal stability.

Eritrea has yet to issue a comprehensive formal response to the embassy closure or the expulsion of its diplomatic personnel, though Asmara has consistently denied interfering in Ethiopia's internal affairs while accusing Western powers and domestic rivals of plotting against its sovereignty. The expulsion of the diplomats creates an immediate vacuum in bilateral communication, raising concerns among regional observers that diplomatic isolation could pave the way for renewed military miscalculation or border skirmishes.

For the wider international community, the diplomatic rupture in the Horn of Africa threatens to destabilize an already volatile region that borders vital global shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Instability in Ethiopia and Eritrea carries profound humanitarian and security implications for East Africa, potentially triggering new refugee flows and drawing in external powers competing for influence along crucial maritime trade routes.