1 October 2026
HRCE calls for immediate protection, emergency preparedness and safe relocation where necessary
London, 1 October 2026 — Human Rights Concern–Eritrea (HRCE) is gravely concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ethiopia and the particular danger it poses to Eritrean refugees, asylum-seekers and other Eritrean civilians living in the country.
On 1 October 2026, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had decided to close the Ethiopian Embassy in Asmara in response to what it described as Eritrea’s “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence.” It also declared ten Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa personae non gratae, alleging activities threatening Ethiopia’s national security, and ordered them to leave within 48 hours.
This serious diplomatic rupture comes amid renewed armed conflict in northern Ethiopia. Fighting has been reported in Tigray and in the Afar towns and districts of Abala and Erebti, while armed conflict and insecurity persist in parts of Amhara. Roads and communications have reportedly been disrupted, and explosions have also been reported in Addis Ababa.
Allegations concerning the involvement of Eritrean forces and support provided by Eritrea to the Ethiopian armed groups are circulating publicly. Some claims remain disputed or independently unverified. Nevertheless, the combination of active fighting, hostile official accusations and the breakdown of diplomatic relations create an unmistakable risk of wider regional escalation.
Eritrean refugees must not become targets
HRCE is particularly concerned for Eritrean refugees at the Aysaita and Barahle camps in Afar; those at Alemwach in Dabat, Amhara Region; and refugees and asylum-seekers living in Addis Ababa and other Ethiopian towns and cities.
Alemwach is not situated in Afar, but its location in the conflict-affected Amhara Region also requires urgent and continuous security assessment.
Eritrean refugees have already suffered devastating consequences during previous conflicts in northern Ethiopia. During the 2020–2022 Tigray war, refugee camps were attacked and destroyed. Refugees were killed, abducted, forcibly returned to Eritrea, displaced repeatedly or separated from their families. Others disappeared while fleeing violence.
Those events must not be repeated.
The developing confrontation creates a serious risk that Eritreans in Ethiopia could face:
- Collective suspicion or punishment because of their nationality;
- Arbitrary arrest, detention or interrogation;
- Harassment, profiling, hate speech and retaliatory attacks;
- Forced recruitment or pressure from armed actors;
- Abduction, trafficking or enforced return to Eritrea;
- Loss of access to food, water, shelter, medicine and humanitarian assistance;
- Renewed displacement from camps and urban communities; and
- Separation from relatives and loss of legal or identity documents.
Refugees and asylum-seekers are civilians entitled to international protection. They must never be treated as representatives, agents or supporters of the Eritrean Government merely because they are Eritrean.
Immediate action required
HRCE calls upon Ethiopia’s Refugees and Returnees Service, UNHCR Ethiopia and their humanitarian partners to act urgently and jointly to:
- Conduct immediate security assessments at Aysaita, Barahle, Alemwach and all other locations accommodating Eritrean refugees;
- Maintain direct and reliable communication with refugee representatives, including women, young people, people with disabilities and other particularly vulnerable individuals;
- Establish emergency evacuation and safe-relocation plans before access routes are closed or security conditions deteriorate further;
- Identify secure reception locations with adequate food, water, sanitation, shelter, healthcare and protection services;
- Maintain confidential emergency telephone lines through which refugees can report threats, detention, disappearance, forced recruitment or attacks;
- Ensure that humanitarian organisations have safe and unhindered access to all affected refugee populations;
- Protect refugees’ registration records and issue replacement documentation to anyone whose papers are lost or destroyed;
- Monitor conditions affecting Eritreans living in Addis Ababa and other urban areas—not only those residing in camps;
- Prevent arbitrary detention, collective punishment, ethnic or nationality-based profiling and incitement against Eritrean civilians; and
- Guarantee that no refugee or asylum-seeker is forcibly returned to Eritrea or transferred to any place where they would face persecution, detention, torture or other serious harm.
Where a refugee location cannot be protected reliably, safe and voluntary relocation must take place before, not after, violence reaches the area.
Appeal to the Ethiopian authorities
HRCE urges the Ethiopian Government, federal and regional security forces and all armed groups to respect the civilian and humanitarian character of refugee camps and settlements.
No military forces, weapons, recruitment activities or armed operations should be permitted inside or near refugee locations. Refugees must not be questioned, detained or punished solely because of their Eritrean nationality or because of allegations made against the Eritrean Government.
The principle of non-refoulement must be upheld without exception. No Eritrean should be deported, expelled or handed over to Eritrean authorities where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would face persecution or serious human-rights violations.
International action cannot wait
HRCE calls upon the African Union, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, diplomatic missions and humanitarian donors to engage immediately with the Ethiopian authorities, UNHCR and RRS.
Contingency planning, humanitarian financing, independent monitoring and diplomatic intervention are needed now. Waiting until camps are attacked, roads are blocked or refugees disappear would repeat the failures witnessed during the previous war.
HRCE also urges all parties to stop inflammatory rhetoric and resolve disputes through peaceful diplomacy. The rights and safety of refugees and other civilians must not become casualties of hostility between governments or armed political actors.
The diplomatic crisis and renewed fighting are urgent warnings. Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia must not be abandoned, scapegoated or forced once again to flee for their lives.
Human Rights Concern–Eritrea (HRCE)
eritrea.facts@gmail.com
