Egypt on Thursday declared an Ethiopian diplomat persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, in retaliation for Ethiopia's expulsion of an Egyptian official. The move marks a fresh escalation in a long-running rift between the two Nile Basin states.
An Egyptian source quoted by local media called Ethiopia's decision "regrettable and unjustified" and accused Addis Ababa of blaming foreign actors for its "successive internal crises". Cairo said its response followed "the principle of reciprocity" and stressed that it refrains from commenting on other states' developments, citing international law and the UN Charter. Ethiopia has not publicly explained why it expelled the Egyptian diplomat.
The tension has deep roots. For years the two countries have clashed over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a vast hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile. Egypt, which depends heavily on the river for its water supply, sees the dam as a threat to its share of the flow. Ethiopia presents it as a vital source of power and development.
Regional security concerns have added to the strain. Ethiopia this week accused Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea of backing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which recently launched a major assault on government forces. Egypt has not publicly responded, while Sudan has denied the allegation. On Thursday, Ethiopia and Eritrea also severed diplomatic ties, each accusing the other of fuelling internal conflicts. Egypt has strengthened its ties with Eritrea's capital, Asmara, in recent months.
On the ground, the fighting in Tigray, Ethiopia's northernmost region, continues. The TPLF took the airport at Mekele, the regional capital, on 23 September at the start of an offensive by a new opposition alliance that aims to remove the federal government. On Friday, the Tigray Peace Forces, a Tigrayan militia allied with the federal government, claimed full control of the Alula Aba Nega airport, about ten kilometres from the city centre, and said it was moving to "liberate" Mekele. The militia had earlier retaken several towns in southern Tigray, including Alamata, after intense fighting. The federal army had been gaining ground in recent days, and the airport would be a strategic prize.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking publicly on the conflict indirectly for the first time, addressed the armed groups of the opposition alliance without naming them. He spoke of "brothers who have gone astray" and said that if they turn toward peace, "the door will always be open".
Why this matters: the expulsions show how a water dispute, a civil conflict and shifting regional alliances are now converging. With Ethiopia accusing its neighbours of interfering and Cairo denying involvement, diplomatic channels in the Horn of Africa and the Nile Basin are narrowing as fighting goes on.