African Union urges restraint as Ethiopia’s regional tensions deepen

The African Union Commission urged Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt on Oct 2 to exercise maximum restraint and pursue peaceful dialogue as diplomatic relations deteriorated and fighting intensified in northern Ethiopia. Eritrea severed all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, while renewed clashes involved Tigray and the neighbouring Afar region.²³⁵

Diplomatic channels under strain

The AU Commission warned the three governments against actions or statements that could heighten tensions and undermine regional peace. It called for communication among Addis Ababa, Asmara and Cairo to remain open and offered to support de-escalation, dialogue and a peaceful settlement of their differences.³⁵

The diplomatic rupture followed Ethiopia’s closure of its embassy in Eritrea and the expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats, according to reports by CGTN and The Jerusalem Post. Eritrea then cut diplomatic relations with Ethiopia. The two outlets also reported that Ethiopia expelled an Egyptian diplomat and that Egypt responded by expelling an Ethiopian embassy official; The Jerusalem Post said both were given 48 hours to leave.²³

CGTN reported that Ethiopia’s military alleged that Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan were backing armed groups opposing the federal government. Eritrea and Egypt rejected the allegations, the broadcaster reported. Al Jazeera separately reported that Cairo and Khartoum denied involvement and that Eritrea denied taking part in the Tigray conflict.¹³

Federal forces advance towards Mekelle

Al Jazeera said on Oct 3 that federal Ethiopian troops, alongside fighters aligned with the government, had recaptured Alula Aba Nega Airport, Mekelle’s principal airport, from rebels. According to the report, Tigray People’s Liberation Front commanders and combatants were observed departing Mekelle, while federal forces had not been seen in the city. Neither the TPLF nor the government had commented on those battlefield developments.¹

Al Jazeera said the TPLF-led coalition, formed from seven rebel parties, had seized three airports around Tigray and fought along the borders with Amhara and Afar. The federal government was conducting a counteroffensive on three routes towards Mekelle, the outlet reported. France 24 separately reported on Oct 2 that the Ethiopian army was moving towards the Tigrayan capital as fighting intensified and that explosions had occurred in Addis Ababa.¹⁴

Al Jazeera reported that the fighting has involved drone strikes, a rise in forced recruitment and assaults on civilian facilities. The outlet reported that rebels were alleged to have launched drone attacks on Addis Ababa. CGTN said Tigrayan forces had captured several strategic locations, including airports, during clashes involving Tigray and Afar.¹³

Conflict renewed after earlier war

According to CGTN, clashes restarted in Tigray almost four years after a peace deal brought the two-year war between Ethiopia’s federal authorities and the TPLF to an end. The Jerusalem Post described the latest clashes as the largest escalation in Ethiopia since the 2020-2022 civil war, in which it said hundreds of thousands of people were killed and Eritrea fought alongside the federal government.²³

Al Jazeera reported that the renewed conflict had not yet reached the scale of the earlier Tigray war. Eritrea has accused Ethiopia of planning an invasion to obtain access to the Red Sea coast, while Ethiopia has previously ruled out pursuing conflict with Eritrea over coastal access, according to the outlet.¹