The African Union Commission has called on Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from actions or statements that could worsen tensions and undermine regional peace and stability.
“The Commission urges the three countries to address their differences through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue,” it said in a statement late on Thursday.
On Thursday, Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties with its neighbour.
It also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, and Cairo responded in kind by declaring an Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave.
Counter-decisions
Eritrea said it was breaking diplomatic ties with its neighbour Ethiopia on Thursday, in response to the earlier expulsion of its diplomats from Addis Ababa.
“Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails,” its foreign ministry said in a statement on X.
Meanwhile, Egypt has denied interfering in the internal affairs of any country, following Ethiopian accusations of backing armed groups in the country’s north.
