Keypoints:
- Eritrea accuses Igad of abandoning neutrality and its legal mandate
- Igad says Asmara failed to engage after rejoining in 2023
- Exit comes amid escalating tensions with Ethiopia overhttps://africabriefing.com/renewed-hostilities-ethiopia-eritrea-peace/ Red Sea access
ERITREA has announced its withdrawal from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), accusing the East African regional bloc of abandoning its founding principles and acting against the interests of some member states. The decision, confirmed in a statement issued by Eritrea’s foreign ministry on Friday, marks the country’s second exit from the organisation and comes as tensions with neighbouring Ethiopia sharply intensify.
Asmara said IGAD had ‘forfeited its legal mandate and authority’ and no longer offered ‘any discernible strategic benefit’ to its members. The ministry accused the bloc of straying from its original purpose of promoting peace, stability and regional cooperation, alleging it had instead become ‘a tool against’ certain countries, including Eritrea.
IGAD brings together Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti and Eritrea, and has historically played a central role in conflict mediation and food security initiatives in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea, however, has long argued that the organisation is politically compromised.
IGAD pushes back
IGAD rejected Eritrea’s claims, saying the country had failed to engage constructively since rejoining the bloc in 2023. In a statement responding to Asmara’s decision, the organisation said Eritrea had not participated in meetings, programmes or activities, and had made no ‘tangible proposals’ to support reforms or strengthen the bloc’s effectiveness.
The exchange has underscored deep-seated mistrust between Eritrea and regional institutions. Eritrea previously withdrew from IGAD in 2007 at the height of a bitter border dispute with Ethiopia, only returning last year in what some observers viewed as a cautious attempt at regional re-engagement.
Ethiopia tensions dominate backdrop
The latest withdrawal comes amid an escalating war of words between Eritrea and Ethiopia, raising fears of renewed confrontation between the two countries. Since 2023, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has publicly pressed for access to the Red Sea via Eritrean territory, arguing that Ethiopia’s long-term economic and security interests require maritime access.
Those remarks have drawn an angry response from Asmara. Eritrea formally seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after a decades-long independence struggle, leaving Ethiopia landlocked. In recent statements, Abiy and other senior Ethiopian officials have questioned Addis Ababa’s recognition of Eritrean independence, further inflaming tensions.
The rhetoric has revived regional anxieties given the two countries’ history of deadly conflict.
A fragile peace unravels
Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for reaching a landmark peace agreement with Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, ending a 20-year border standoff that claimed more than 100,000 lives. That deal initially raised hopes of lasting stability in the Horn of Africa.
However, relations have since deteriorated. During earlier periods of tension, Eritrea was accused by neighbours of destabilising the region through interference in Igad member states, allegations Asmara has consistently denied. Eritrea has instead argued that neighbouring governments, often backed by Western powers, sought to isolate and weaken it.
At Ethiopia’s urging, Igad previously called on the African Union and the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Eritrea, further entrenching hostility. Eritrea also severed diplomatic ties with Djibouti, which hosts IGAD’s headquarters, following a border dispute in 2009.
Regional bloc under scrutiny
Asmara’s suspicions have been sharpened by the appointment of former Ethiopian foreign minister Workneh Gebeyehu as IGAD’s executive secretary. Critics of the bloc say IGAD has struggled to deliver peace and integration in a region plagued by civil wars, terrorism and repeated inter-state confrontations.
Eritrea’s decision to quit once again highlights the fragility of regional cooperation in the Horn of Africa at a time of rising geopolitical strain.
