Eritrea says it will close its embassy in Asmara, declares 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata. Eritrea says it is breaking diplomatic relations with neighbor Ethiopia in response to the expulsion of diplomats from Addis Ababa, as fighting intensifies between Ethiopia’s federal forces and a coalition of armed opposition groups. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry also declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa, including the chargé d’affaires and others accredited to the African Union, “persona non grata for their participation in activities that pose a direct threat to the national security of Ethiopia,” requiring them to leave the country within 48 hours. In its statement, Eritrea’s ministry said claims of its involvement in hostile activities were “staggering.” “In reality, it is Ethiopia that has been pursuing an agenda of relentless hostility,” he said, adding that Addis Ababa had waged a war against Eritrea to gain access to the Red Sea. He also accused Ethiopia of harboring, training and arming Eritrean opposition groups to fuel internal conflict. Addis Ababa has in turn accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that has fought troops loyal to Ethiopia’s federal government since last week. Ethiopia’s government also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata on Thursday and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, according to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation. Egypt responded in kind by declaring an Ethiopian embassy counselor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave, state-affiliated Al Qahera News reported, citing an Egyptian official. Fierce clashes continue between Ethiopian federal forces and armed opposition groups. Explosions were heard in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and Thursday, while fighters also clashed with government forces in the northern Afar region. In a statement Thursday, U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Jim McGovern and John Garamendi expressed concern about the escalation of fighting and called on all parties in Ethiopia to “immediately reengage with peace negotiations.” Sudan it is ordinary civilians who are most affected by this violence,” the statement read. Days after the latest fighting broke out last week, the chief administrator of the Afar region, Haji Awol Arba, told Al Jazeera that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into Afar to join the alliance’s offensive. The fighting marks the biggest escalation since the end of the 2020-2022 civil war. Eritrea fought alongside to the Ethiopian government during the Tigray war, but relations between the neighbors have deteriorated since then. Eritrea was not a party to the Pretoria Peace Agreement that ended the fighting in November 2022, and relations between the two nations deteriorated rapidly. Ties between the neighbors have been historically fragile. In 1962, Ethiopia annexed Eritrea. Afwerki, secured independence in 1993. When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, he moved to end tensions and normalize diplomatic relations with President Isaias. But Abiy’s ambitions to seek direct access to the sea for landlocked Ethiopia have contributed to tensions. In recent years, Abiy has repeated that Ethiopia has a right to access to the sea, words that officials in Asmara interpret as a declaration. territorial conflict with Eritrea.
