Ethiopia and Eritrea sever diplomatic relations amid escalating conflict in northern Ethiopia

The death toll from the Ebola virus in Congo has exceeded four thousand deaths, as the authorities struggle to contain the deadly virus, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.

The Congolese Ministry of Health revealed the latest toll of Ebola victims on Thursday. The data showed that 4,018 people died out of 8,300 confirmed cases of infection with the virus, representing nearly half the number of confirmed cases during the fastest outbreak of the disease ever.

Congo declared an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country on May 15 due to the rare Bundibugyo strain of the disease, for which no known treatment or vaccine has yet been found.

The World Health Organization recently warned about the rapid spread of the virus geographically to new health areas. This puts pressure on already limited resources to combat the disease.

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in the latest press conference that the number of confirmed cases of infection with the virus is declining, but this can be attributed to the lack of security and challenges that communities face in cooperating in dealing with some outbreak hotspots.

It is noteworthy that a lack of trust towards health workers and authorities has hampered efforts to slow the spread of the Ebola virus, which is the seventeenth outbreak of its kind in the central African country.

Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea, and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, yesterday, Thursday, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic relations with its neighbour, after hearing explosions during the night in Addis Ababa that raised fears of the expansion of the renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa accused Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of supporting an opposition coalition led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which has been fighting with forces loyal to the federal government in Ethiopia since last week. The three countries deny these accusations.

The African Union Commission urged the three countries to exercise the utmost restraint and refrain from any actions or statements that would exacerbate tension and undermine peace and stability in the region.

These clashes represent the largest escalation of fighting in Ethiopia since the end of the civil war that took place between 2020 and 2022 and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Eritrea took up arms in support of the Ethiopian federal government in that conflict.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said yesterday, Thursday, that Addis Ababa “decided to close its embassy in Asmara, in response to the direct and indirect acts of hostility and aggression practiced by Eritrea against Ethiopia.”

The ministry stated in a statement on its account on the “X” platform that 10 Eritrean diplomats, whose names were not mentioned, are required to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters that the expulsion of all Eritrean diplomats from Ethiopia means that the government is effectively closing the embassy in Addis Ababa.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “Eritrea has no choice but to respond in kind and sever all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, despite all the negative repercussions that may result from this.”

The official Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation and two informed sources reported that the Ethiopian government also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours.

The state-owned Cairo news channel quoted a senior Egyptian source as saying that Cairo responded in kind by declaring the advisor of the Ethiopian embassy in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave the country.

The source described the Ethiopian action against the Egyptian diplomat as unfortunate and unjustified, and said that Egypt always refuses to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nader Zaki told Reuters that the measure taken by Cairo is justified. He added that reciprocity is the basis of diplomacy.

These escalatory steps came hours after explosions were heard in the Ethiopian capital, fueling fears that the fighting could turn into a broader regional conflict.

In a statement issued late yesterday, Thursday, the African Union Commission urged the three countries to “address their differences through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue.”

A source connected to the opposition coalition told Reuters that the coalition carried out drone strikes on Addis Ababa, including attacks targeting the military headquarters there.

If confirmed, these strikes would represent the first known drone attack by anti-government forces on Addis Ababa, which is hundreds of kilometers away from the battle lines in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions in the north.

Three diplomatic sources, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed the explosions. Witnesses said that there was no visible damage near the military base.

The Ethiopian embassy in Eritrea was reopened in 2018 as part of a rapprochement with Asmara, which led to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

The armies of the two countries fought together against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the main party there, during the war between 2020 and 2022. But Eritrea was not a party to the peace agreement that ended the fighting in November 2022, and relations between the two countries quickly soured.

The two governments exchanged criticism over the issue of access to the Red Sea, as landlocked Ethiopia insists that having a sea port is vital to its security and economy. Asmara said it feared that Addis Ababa would try to seize the port of Assab by force.

Days after the outbreak of the latest clashes, the governor of Afar, Oul Araba, told Al Jazeera that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into the northern region to join the opposition coalition attack.

Meanwhile, pro-government groups said yesterday, Thursday, that federal government forces and allied armed groups have made new gains in Tigray and Afar.

The National Intelligence Service banned the flying of drones over Addis Ababa. Opposition forces have not previously been known to use armed drones, but there is growing evidence that they may have some capabilities in this area.

On Tuesday, the pro-government Tigray Peace Force movement announced that it had seized drone frames and batteries from forces linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Edward Bach, senior Africa analyst at risk management consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said the opposition's ability to strike Addis Ababa would be a "political turning point," undermining any government narrative that says the capital has not been affected by the war, and diminishing a key advantage for federal government forces: their air superiority.

Federal government forces continue to advance in southern Tigray, approaching Mekele, the regional capital, while the opposition coalition has seized towns in the neighboring Afar region.

Pro-government forces recaptured the town of Erbeti in Afar, which the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces had seized at the beginning of the conflict, the Tigray Peace Force announced via X, thanking the Ethiopian National Defense Forces for the "wonderful air support."

Valerie Browning, one of the founders of the Afar Pastoral Development Association, told Reuters that fighting in the region had forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Today (Thursday), the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the closure of its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Ethiopia persona non grata.

In a statement, the ministry accused Eritrea of ​​committing “direct and indirect hostile and offensive acts against Ethiopia,” according to what was reported by the Reuters news agency.

For its part, Eritrea announced this evening that it was severing its diplomatic relations with its neighbor Ethiopia, in response to Addis Ababa's expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats. The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement on the “X” platform: “Eritrea has no choice but to respond in kind and sever all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, with all the negative repercussions that would result from that.”

Since last week, Eritrea has denied allegations of its support for an opposition coalition fighting Ethiopian government forces.

The Ethiopian embassy in Eritrea was reopened in 2018 as part of the rapprochement under which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two neighboring countries have long and tense historical relations, as the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian Army, a few days ago, accused Eritrea of ​​supporting armed groups currently fighting against federal forces in the north of the country.

Violent clashes broke out on September 23 between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, raising the specter of a return to the civil conflict that took place between 2020 and 2022, which killed an estimated 600,000 people.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry announced “the expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats from Addis Ababa for their involvement in activities that constitute a direct threat to Ethiopian national security,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The statement added that the Ethiopian embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, will be closed “in response to the direct and indirect acts of hostility and provocation carried out by Eritrea towards Ethiopia.”

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of conflict, but relations with Addis Ababa did not stabilize until 2018 with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed taking office.

In the civil war that took place between 2020 and 2022, Eritrea supported federal forces, but relations have deteriorated again since the end of that war, as Eritrea claims that Ethiopia, a landlocked country, covets its port of Assab.