Eritrea breaks diplomatic ties with Ethiopia

Eritrea's foreign ministry said on Thursday that it was severing all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia.The move came afterEthiopia earlier announced the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata.Ethiopia's foreign ministry said the embassy closure was in response to what it described as Eritrea's “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence” against Ethiopia.The ministry said the 10 Eritrean diplomats had engaged in activities posing a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security, in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

They were ordered to leave the country within 48 hours.The diplomatic rupture comes amid accusations by Addis Ababa that Eritrea and other countries are supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting forces loyal to Ethiopia's federal government since last week.

Eritrea denies the accusation.Ethiopia called on Eritrea to stop what it described as actions contrary to the principles governing relations between sovereign states.“Ethiopia values its strong historical, cultural and people-to-people ties with Eritrea and remains committed to peaceful coexistence, regional stability and integration,” its foreign ministry said.