Last updated: October 1, 2026
The Ethiopian Government issued a Press Statement today announcing the closure of the Eritrean Embassy in Ethiopia, as well as declaring ten Eritrean diplomats, including the Chargé d’Affaires and other Eritrean diplomats accredited to the African Union, persona non grata.
To justify these unwarranted acts of hostility, the Ethiopian Government has turned the tables and accused Eritrea of “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence against Ethiopia.”
This is astounding indeed.
In reality, it is Ethiopia that has been pursuing an agenda of incessant hostility — in effect, a publicly pronounced declaration of war — against Eritrea for three years, in pursuit of “the imperative of acquiring sovereign access to the sea” through the invasion of sovereign Eritrean ports and coastal areas.
In parallel with these aggressive intentions, Ethiopia has gone further to host, train, and provide arms to an assortment of what it calls “Eritrean armed opposition groups” in an effort to stoke internal conflict and pursue “regime change” in Eritrea.
Throughout these trying times, Eritrea has displayed patience and restraint in the hope of averting a dangerous escalation.
In the current circumstances, however, Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, with all the negative corollaries that this entails.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
1 October 2026