Ethiopia closes Eritrea embassy as diplomatic tensions escalate

Ethiopia has closed its embassy in Eritrea and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours as tensions between the two neighbours escalate.

A video showed the Eritrean embassy was closed, with people waiting outside and a man knocking on its doors. A truck was also seen leaving the compound before a security guard shut the gate.

Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry said the Eritrean diplomats had been declared persona non grata over alleged activities that posed a direct threat to the country's national security.

Addis Ababa also said it closed its embassy in Asmara in response to what it described as Eritrea's “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence.”

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Eritrea rejected the allegations and accused Ethiopia of pursuing hostile policies.

Asmara said it would “sever all diplomatic ties” with Ethiopia in response.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent months, with both governments accusing each other of hostile actions. The latest dispute comes years after Ethiopia and Eritrea restored diplomatic ties in 2018.

The tensions also come amid renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia between government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting a new militant alliance, an allegation Asmara has repeatedly denied.