Ethiopia and Eritrea have severed diplomatic relations as renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia raises fears of a wider regional conflict.

On Thursday, Ethiopia announced that it was closing its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, accusing them of activities that threatened national security.

Eritrea responded by cutting diplomatic relations, saying Ethiopia’s decision had left it with no choice but to take reciprocal action.

The diplomatic confrontation came hours after powerful explosions were heard overnight in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, including near Ethiopia’s military headquarters.

It follows a sharp deterioration in relations between the neighbours, with Addis Ababa accusing Eritrea of supporting an alliance of armed groups fighting the Ethiopian government – an allegation Asmara has repeatedly denied.

Ethiopia said it was expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats who “pose a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security” and would shut its embassy in Asmara.

In response, Eritrea announced on late Thursday that it was severing diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, describing Addis Ababa’s decision as “astounding”.

“Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia,” its foreign ministry said, warning of “negative corollaries” from the decision.

The diplomatic fallout comes as Ethiopian federal forces battle fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara.

The latest hostilities are the most serious since a peace agreement ended the devastating Tigray war in 2022. An African Union mediator previously estimated that about 600,000 people died during that two-year conflict.

Last month, the TPLF joined six other armed movements, including the Fano militia from Amhara, to form an alliance whose stated objective is to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government from power.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of helping the alliance.

A pro-government militia commander fighting in Tigray also told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers had been

The two countries were allies during the 2020-2022 Tigray war, when Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces against the TPLF.

But relations have deteriorated significantly since then, particularly over Ethiopia’s push for direct access to the Red Sea. Asmara accuses Ethiopia of pursuing what it describes as an increasingly hostile policy over the Red Sea.

Landlocked Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent in 1993.

Abiy has repeatedly argued that access to the sea is essential to Ethiopia’s long-term economic and security interests, while Eritrea has accused his government of harbouring ambitions over its ports.