Eritrea announced on Friday that it is withdrawing from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), citing the bloc’s failure to serve its national interests.
The country’s foreign ministry said IGAD had “forfeited its legal mandate and authority” and offered no tangible benefit to regional stability or its members.
Eritrea had previously left IGAD in 2003, rejoining two years ago, but accused the organisation of neglecting its core mission to ensure security and cooperation.
IGAD, which includes Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda, oversees policies on trade, transport, agriculture, and regional development.
Tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia have escalated, raising fears of renewed conflict decades after the two nations signed a 2000 peace agreement that ended a long border war.
Ethiopia has expressed interest in regaining access to the Red Sea through Eritrea, territory it lost when Eritrea gained independence in 1993.
Eritrean officials viewed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s September remark calling the loss of maritime access a “mistake” as provocative and threatening.
The United Nations has called on both countries to recommit to lasting peace, emphasising respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and adherence to the Algiers Agreement—a framework that ended nearly three decades of fighting and remains key to regional stability.
Both nations have traded accusations: Eritrea alleges Ethiopia seeks to seize its ports, while Ethiopia claims Eritrea supports rebel groups and is preparing for war.
The rising rhetoric highlights the fragile peace in the Horn of Africa and casts doubt over the prospects for meaningful regional cooperation.