Ethiopia and Eritrea break diplomatic ties over conflict

Ethiopia and Eritrea broke diplomatic ties on Thursday, accusing each other of stoking internal conflicts as fighting continued in northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing a rebel group, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which launched a major assault against government forces last week, raising fears of a return to the devastating 2020-2022 civil war that killed an estimated 600,000 people.

Addis Ababa said it was expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats who "pose a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security" and would shut its embassy in Asmara.

Eritrea's foreign ministry responded shortly after that it "has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia."

Hundreds have been killed and wounded since heavy fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia last week.

The TPLF, which dominates the state of Tigray, launched attacks into neighbouring Afar and Amhara states, fighting alongside local militias.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has yet to comment on the crisis, is due to be sworn in for a new term on Monday after winning elections in June.

But he faces conflict on multiple fronts as several armed groups have formed an alliance against him.

Ethiopia also expelled an Egyptian diplomat, without giving a reason.

The two countries have also been at odds -- particularly over a mega dam being built by Ethiopia on the River Nile -- and Egypt has built closer ties with Eritrea in recent months.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and they fought a brutal border war from 1998 to 2000.

Ties improved when Abiy came to power in 2018, and the two countries even fought together against the Tigrayans during the last civil war.

But relations then deteriorated sharply, with Eritrea voicing fears that landlocked Ethiopia intended to invade and seize access to the Red Sea.

Ethiopia "has been pursuing an agenda of incessant hostility... against Eritrea for three years in pursuit of 'the imperative of acquiring sovereign access to the sea' through the invasion of sovereign Eritrean ports and coastal areas," the Eritrean foreign ministry said on Thursday.

AFP