Egypt has declared a counsellor at the Ethiopian Embassy in Cairo persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, in a reciprocal move after Ethiopia expelled an Egyptian diplomat.
An Egyptian official told Al Qahera News late Thursday that the Ethiopian diplomat had been given 48 hours to leave Egyptian territory under the principle of reciprocity.
The decision came after Ethiopia declared Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Moharam Ahmed Soliman persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. Ethiopian authorities did not publicly provide a detailed explanation for the decision.
The Egyptian official described Ethiopia’s move as “unfortunate and unjustified,” saying Cairo had consistently maintained a policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, including Ethiopia.
The official also accused Addis Ababa of seeking to blame external actors for its domestic crises, an allegation made amid renewed fighting and political tensions inside Ethiopia.
The diplomatic dispute comes during a period of sharply heightened regional tensions. Ethiopia on Thursday also ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats, accusing Eritrea — along with Egypt and Sudan — of supporting an opposition alliance involved in renewed fighting against the Ethiopian government. Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan have denied Ethiopian allegations of involvement. Eritrea subsequently announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
