Ethiopia and Eritrea break diplomatic relations as tensions rise with Egypt

Ethiopia and Eritrea have severed diplomatic relations, marking a sharp escalation in tensions across the Horn of Africa, according to regional reports. The move came alongside a separate diplomatic rupture between Ethiopia and Egypt, with both countries expelling each other's diplomats.

The breakdown in ties between Addis Ababa and Asmara follows a period of strained relations between the two neighbors, which fought a brutal border war from 1998 to 2000 before reaching a peace agreement in 2018. That rapprochement had been seen as a major diplomatic breakthrough for the region, but relations have cooled again in recent years amid disputes over Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea and its posture toward Eritrea.

Compounding the instability, fighting has reportedly resumed in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, an area that endured a devastating two-year civil war between federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front before a 2022 truce. A return to armed conflict there would raise fresh humanitarian concerns in a region still recovering from one of the deadliest wars of the past decade.

The simultaneous deterioration of relations with Egypt adds another layer of complexity. Cairo and Addis Ababa have long been at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile, with Egypt warning that the project threatens its water supply. The expulsion of diplomats suggests that dispute, combined with wider regional rivalries, has reached a new low point.

Observers note that the overlapping crises — a diplomatic break with Eritrea, expulsions involving Egypt, and renewed fighting in Tigray — point to a broader unraveling of stability in the Horn of Africa, a region already strained by conflict in Sudan and chronic food insecurity. It remains unclear what immediate steps, if any, regional or international bodies such as the African Union may take to de-escalate the situation.