Ethiopia closes embassy in Eritrea, expels 10 diplomats

Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and the expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats, declaring them persona non grata over alleged threats to national security and violations of diplomatic conventions.

In a statement issued Thursday, the ministry said the decision to close the embassy in Asmara came in response to what it described as Eritrea's "direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence" against Ethiopia. The move marks a significant deterioration in relations between the two Horn of Africa neighbors, which had signed a peace agreement in 2018 ending two decades of conflict.

According to the ministry, the 10 expelled diplomats had engaged in activities that posed a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security, violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The diplomats were ordered to leave Ethiopian territory within 48 hours. "Ethiopia values its strong historical, cultural and people-to-people ties with Eritrea and remains committed to peaceful coexistence, regional stability and integration," the statement said.

The ministry called on the Eritrean government to cease what it characterized as acts contrary to the principles governing relations between sovereign states. The expulsions come amid rising tensions in the Horn of Africa region, where border disputes and proxy conflicts have historically fueled instability between the former wartime adversaries.