Eritrea withdraws from East African bloc IGAD

The government of Eritrea says it has withdrawn from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc, two years after rejoining the organisation in 2023 following a years-long absence.

In a statement, the government accused the bloc of failure by the body to contribute to the stability of the region.

“Eritrea finds itself compelled to withdraw its membership from an organization that has forfeited its legal mandate and authority; offering no discernible strategic benefit to all its constituencies,” the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The government argued that IGAD "has and continues to renege on its statutory obligations, thereby undermining its own relevance and legal mandate".

But IGAD said Eritrea's decision was taken without any proposals on reforms, noting that the country had not participated in meetings, programmes or activities of the bloc since it rejoined in 2023.

In its rejoinder, IGAD regretted the decision, saying its “secretariat will continue its outreach to the Government of the State of Eritrea and encourages it to reconsider its position and to fully rejoin the organisation in good faith, in order to advance shared objectives for peace, stability, and development across the region”.

IGAD was established in 1996 and is made up of eight states in the Horn of Africa region - Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda.

Algiers agreement

Eritrea’s withdrawal was announced on a day that marks the 25th anniversary of the Algiers Agreement, a landmark peace treaty that formally ended a bloody border conflict with its southern neighbour Ethiopia.

The UN had earlier on Friday urged the two Horn of Africa neighbours to recommit to the agreement, warning that renewed tensions could undermine regional peace.

The two countries signed another peace deal in 2018, which won Ethiopian Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize, but relations have since broken down again, with Eritrea recently accusing its landlocked neighbour of eyeing its Assab port.

Ethiopian authorities, meanwhile, claim Eritrea is "actively preparing for war" and funding armed groups fighting federal forces.