Eritrea said it was breaking diplomatic ties with its neighbour Ethiopia on Thursday, in response to the earlier expulsion of its diplomats from Addis Ababa.

"Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails," its foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

Ethiopia had earlier on Thursday expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats on Thursday, claiming they posed "a direct threat" to the country's national security.

In a statement shared on Facebook, the Ethiopian foreign ministry "declared ten Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata for involvement in activities that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security".

The statement added that the ministry had decided close the Ethiopian embassy in Eritrea's capital Asmara, "in response to Eritrea's direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence towards Ethiopia".