Tuesday December 16, 2025
FILE - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki hold up a symbolic key during a joint ceremony marking the restoration of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Asmara, Eritrea. The 2018 peace initiative formally ended two decades of hostility following a border war and paved the way for the reopening of embassies, flights and cross-border ties.
Mogadishu (HOL) — Eritrea has withdrawn from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, for the second time, accusing the regional bloc of failing to meet its mandate as tensions with neighbouring Ethiopia intensify and international leaders warn against a return to conflict.
The decision was announced in a statement issued by Eritrea’s Ministry of Information on Dec. 12. The government said IGAD had failed to protect Eritrea’s interests, contribute to regional stability or fulfill its legal responsibilities.
“IGAD has persistently fallen short of its responsibilities and obligations,” the statement said, adding that the organization has delivered no meaningful strategic benefit to its members.
The withdrawal comes as African Union and United Nations leaders renew calls for Ethiopia and Eritrea to uphold the 2000 Algiers Agreement, which formally ended their two-year border war.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mohamed Ali Youssouf, speaking on the 25th anniversary of the accord, described it as a “historic victory for peace” that ended a conflict that killed an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people.
“As we commemorate this anniversary, I call on Ethiopia and Eritrea to renew their commitment to the Algiers Agreement and to choose dialogue and good neighborliness as the best path forward,” Youssouf said.
He warned that stability in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region depends on rebuilding trust, expanding cooperation and preventing actions that undermine collective security.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres echoed those concerns, urging both countries to maintain their commitment to lasting peace and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“At this critical moment, the secretary-general underscores his full support for the Algiers Agreement,” the United Nations said in a statement.
IGAD, headquartered in Djibouti, is an eight-member regional bloc focused on peace and security, economic cooperation and regional integration. Its members are Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea.
Eritrea first withdrew from IGAD in 2007 following Ethiopia’s military intervention in Somalia in late 2006. Ethiopian troops entered Mogadishu to support Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government against the Islamic Courts Union, which controlled much of the capital.
Eritrea accused IGAD of supporting what it described as an Ethiopian invasion and said it would not remain part of an organization complicit in what it called injustice against the Somali people.
Eritrea remained outside the bloc for 16 years.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea improved in 2018 after Abiy and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace declaration ending two decades of hostility. Eritrea rejoined IGAD, and the U.N. Security Council lifted long-standing sanctions imposed over allegations that Eritrea had supported armed groups in Somalia. Eritrea denied the accusations.
The rapprochement proved fragile.
Ties deteriorated following the 2022 Pretoria agreement that ended Ethiopia’s war in the Tigray region. Tensions increased further after Abiy publicly raised the issue of Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea, alarming Eritrea and other regional states.
The Algiers Agreement established an independent boundary commission that, in 2002, awarded the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia rejected the ruling and refused to withdraw its forces, calling instead for further negotiations.
Eritrea rejected additional talks, insisting the decision was final and binding. The dispute left the two countries in a prolonged state of “no war, no peace” for nearly two decades.
Although implementation of the agreement was reaffirmed in later peace declarations signed in Asmara and Jeddah, the border ruling has never been fully carried out.
Analysts warn that Eritrea’s exit from IGAD, combined with unresolved border issues and shifting regional alliances, could further destabilize the Horn of Africa.
The African Union and the United Nations have stressed that renewed dialogue and adherence to existing agreements remain essential to preventing escalation and preserving regional stability.