Ethiopia expels Eritrean diplomats as Tigray conflict tensions spike

Ethiopia on Thursday ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours and said it was closing its embassy in Eritrea, sharply raising tensions between the neighbours. The move came hours after blasts were heard in parts of Addis Ababa and as fighting continued in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.

Eritrea called the decision "astounding" and said it had "no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails". It was not immediately clear whether the explosions in Addis Ababa were linked to an attack or were part of training exercises at the defence headquarters.

Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry said the Eritrean diplomats were being expelled for their "involvement in activities that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security". Last week, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of financing rebels in Tigray, who have taken control of several towns in renewed fighting against federal forces.

An intelligence service official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said there had been three blasts in three different locations in Addis Ababa overnight, but gave no further details. A diplomatic source, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said a blast was heard at 7 pm near the defence headquarters, followed by a siren. Residents living near the defence headquarters also said they heard a blast near a factory in the area after midnight.

The explosions were reported hours after the Intelligence and Security Service banned the flying of drones in Addis Ababa and surrounding areas. In Tigray, the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, recently took over the region's main airport, leading to a suspension of flights. The United Nations has called for de-escalation and dialogue between the government and seven opposition groups that recently formed an alliance to challenge Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The renewed fighting has shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war in Tigray. The TPLF, an armed political group based in Tigray, was the dominant party in a coalition that ruled Ethiopia between 1991 and 2018, and has since been outlawed by Abiy's government.

People displaced by the 2020 war in Tigray said the new fighting was bringing fresh hardship. Residents of the Hitsats camp in northwestern Tigray, home to about 16,000 people who have been living there for six years, said they could hear gunfire from kilometres away on Thursday and feared they could be displaced again. "We hear fighting supported by heavy artillery, and drones hover in the sky every day," one resident told The Associated Press by phone. In Mekelle, residents said communication, banking and other essential services had been disrupted. Abdelaziz Ahmed, a 35-year-old merchant, said, "People cannot buy anything because they lack cash, so we cannot sell. My current stock won't last more than a month. My only hope is that all these challenges pass and peace is restored in Tigray." A taxi driver, who declined to be named, said fuel prices had doubled on the black market. "The war has made life extremely difficult. We don't even have money for food or rent," he said.

The diplomatic break between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the blasts in Addis Ababa and the renewed fighting in Tigray together marked a sharp escalation in the crisis, with civilians reporting growing disruption and hardship.

With PTI Inputs

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