Eritrea severs all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa closes its Asmara embassy
1 October 2026
Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on 1 October 2026 that it was severing all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia.
The announcement followed Ethiopia's decision to shut its embassy in Asmara and to declare 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, giving them 48 hours to leave.
Ethiopia said the expelled diplomats posed a direct threat to its national security.
Eritrea said it had no option but to reciprocate in kind.
The rupture came after heavy fighting broke out in northern Ethiopia between federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front; Ethiopia said Eritrea was supporting the TPLF.
Eritrea became independent of Ethiopia in 1993, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had normalised relations with Asmara in 2018.
In plain words
persona non grata person not welcome — A declaration by which a receiving state requires a foreign diplomat to leave, without having to give reasons.
TPLF Tigray People's Liberation Front — The armed political movement based in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.