Ethiopia and Eritrea sever diplomatic relations as fighting spreads across northern Ethiopia
2 October 2026
Ethiopia announced that it would close its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata, requiring them to leave within 48 hours.
Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs then said it had "no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia".
Ethiopia also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata, and Egypt expelled an Ethiopian embassy counsellor in return.
Federal forces are fighting the Tigray People's Liberation Front and allied groups across Tigray, Amhara and Afar; government-aligned forces say they took the town of Alamata on 28 September 2026.
Seven Ethiopian armed and political groups announced an alliance on 20 September 2026 called the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival.
The rupture reverses the rapprochement of 2018, for which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent in 1993.
In plain words
Persona non grata A diplomat declared unacceptable by the host state — The host country may require such a diplomat to leave within a stated time.
TPLF Tigray People's Liberation Front — The dominant political and armed movement in Ethiopia's Tigray region.
Asmara Capital of Eritrea — Ethiopia's embassy there is being closed.