The African Union Commission on Friday called on Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt to exercise the utmost restraint amid rising tensions between the three countries. It urged them to refrain from taking measures or making statements that could lead to further escalation or undermine peace and stability at the regional level.
The commission expressed deep concern over the developments and urged the three countries, as members of the African Union, to resolve their disputes through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue, in line with the principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
African Union calls for restraint and dialogue
The commission also affirmed its readiness to support efforts aimed at de-escalation, facilitate dialogue and help reach a peaceful settlement to the disputes, amid a series of measures and mutual accusations between Ethiopia on one side and Eritrea and Egypt on the other. The Eritrean government announced on Thursday that it was severing all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, against the backdrop of ongoing developments and escalation between the two countries.
The decision followed Ethiopia's announcement that it was closing its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and ordering Eritrean diplomats to leave Ethiopian territory within 48 hours. The Eritrean government accused Ethiopia of pursuing a hostile approach and openly declaring war on Eritrea for three years.
It said this was linked to Addis Ababa's efforts to secure sovereign access to the sea by invading ports and coastal areas under Eritrean sovereignty. The accusations were made in Asmara's statement on severing relations. Before these steps, the governor of Ethiopia's Afar Region had accused the Eritrean army of direct involvement, with its commanders and heavy weapons, in the ongoing war in northern Ethiopia.
Diplomatic disputes between Ethiopia and Eritrea intensify
He also accused it of seeking to cut the road linking Ethiopia and Djibouti, providing a further indication of the widening dispute between the two countries. The diplomatic tension also spread to Egypt, as Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry asked Ahmed Moharam Ahmed Suleiman, a member of the diplomatic staff at the Egyptian embassy in Ethiopia, to leave the country within 48 hours.
The ministry said it had notified the Egyptian embassy that he was persona non grata, citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Cairo responded to Ethiopia's decision by declaring the Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him a similar 48-hour deadline to leave the country, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
A senior Egyptian source described Ethiopia's action against the Egyptian embassy official in Addis Ababa as “regrettable” and unjustified. The source added that Egypt had consistently affirmed its complete rejection of interference in the internal affairs of states and its refusal to comment on events taking place in other countries, including Ethiopia, out of respect for the rules of international law and the United Nations Charter.
The source said the decision to declare the Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Cairo persona non grata was a response to the step taken by the Ethiopian government, noting that the Egyptian authorities had given him 48 hours to leave the country.
