Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of ​​supporting opposition, two countries cut off diplomatic relations

After explosions were reported in the Ethiopian capital late yesterday, the government today ordered the expulsion of diplomats and the closure of the embassy in neighboring Eritrea, which it accused of supporting an opposition alliance. Eritrea subsequently announced that it would break off diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.

Three Ethiopian diplomatic sources confirmed to Reuters that an explosion occurred in the capital Addis Ababa last night. This makes people more worried about the expansion of the scope of the recent conflict in the northern part of the country.

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An alliance of Ethiopian opposition forces led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) began fighting last week against forces loyal to the country's federal government. A source related to the alliance told Reuters today that the alliance launched several drone attacks on Addis Ababa last night, targeting government military headquarters.

If the news is true, it would be the first known drone attack on the capital by Ethiopian anti-government forces. However, witnesses said there was no damage near the local military base.

The battle lines between Ethiopian opposition forces and government-related forces are mainly in Tigray Province, the base camp of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, and in the northern provinces of Amhara and Afar. Addis Ababa is hundreds of kilometers away.

This latest wave of conflict is the largest escalation of fighting in Ethiopia since the end of its 2020-2022 civil war. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the opposition alliance, but they deny it.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the social media platform

Agence France-Presse reported that Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs later issued a statement saying: "Eritrea has no choice but to respond in the same way and therefore cuts off all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, which will bring all related negative consequences."

The civil war in Ethiopia that ended four years ago killed hundreds of thousands of people. At that time, Eritrea entered the war to support the federal government of the country. (Compiled by: Zhang Zhengqian) 1151002