ASMARA, Eritrea — Eritrea has officially withdrawn from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc, marking a significant escalation in the diplomatic volatility currently gripping the Horn of Africa.
In a sharp rebuke issued on Friday, Asmara accused the organization of losing its neutrality and acting as a proxy for hostile interests.
The Eritrean Foreign Ministry asserted that the bloc has abandoned its original mandate and failed to foster regional peace.
“Eritrea finds itself compelled to withdraw its membership from an organisation that has forfeited its legal mandate and authority; offering no discernible strategic benefit to all its constituencies,” the ministry stated in its official communique.
A history of friction and recrimination
This is not the first time Eritrea has distanced itself from the bloc. Asmara previously exited in 2007 during a bitter border dispute with Ethiopia, only returning in 2023. However, that reconciliation was short-lived.
The bloc—which includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and Djibouti—responded to the withdrawal by claiming Eritrea had never fully committed to its return.
IGAD officials noted that since rejoining, the country had not “participated in IGAD meetings, programmes, or activities,” nor had it offered any “tangible proposals” for institutional reform.
The shadow of Ethiopia: Red Sea ambitions and sovereignty
The exit comes amid a dangerous deterioration in relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending a two-decade border stalemate with President Isaias Afewerki, the “peace” has largely collapsed.
Since 2023, PM Abiy has intensified demands for Ethiopia to gain direct access to the Red Sea, a move that would require a deal with—or an incursion into—Eritrea.
Asmara has viewed these demands as an existential threat to its sovereignty, especially as some Ethiopian officials have begun publicly questioning the 1993 recognition of Eritrean independence.
Institutional bias and suspicion
Asmara’s long-standing suspicion of IGAD is fueled by what it perceives as an Ethiopian-led bias within the organization.
- Leadership concerns: The current Executive Secretary of IGAD is Workneh Gebyehu, Ethiopia’s former Foreign Minister, a fact that has deepened Asmara’s distrust.
- Diplomatic hostility: Eritrea maintains severed ties with Djibouti, the host nation of IGAD’s headquarters, following a 2009 border conflict.
- Sanctions history: The Eritrean government remains bitter over IGAD’s past role in lobbying the African Union and the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Asmara.
The regional outlook
The withdrawal leaves the Horn of Africa more fragmented than ever. IGAD was founded to promote food security and regional stability, yet it now finds itself sidelined as two of its most powerful neighbors inch closer to potential armed conflict.
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Critics of the bloc argue that this exit is further proof of IGAD’s inability to mediate the civil wars, terrorism, and intra-state rivalries that continue to define the region.
With Eritrea now outside the regional framework, the diplomatic channels to de-escalate the “war of words” with Ethiopia have significantly narrowed, raising the stakes for peace in East Africa.
