By AGGREY MUTAMBO

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday announced it was pulling out all international staff from Ethiopia, following a "serious diplomatic incident" in which staff were attacked by security officers.

The bank, which lends exclusively to African countries, however said that existing Ethiopian staff will continue working under its employment contracts and their Ethiopian office manned by an officer-in-charge. International staff will work remotely in the meantime.

The AfDB's decision followed what it called "breach of diplomatic protocol and assault" by Ethiopian security forces on two of the African Development Bank’s international members of staff. 

Two Addis Ababa based staff on October 31, 2023 were arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for hours without charge or any official explanation, the bank said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had personally intervened to have the two freed.

Read: Abiy 'rescues' detained AfDB staffers in Ethiopia

The lender had protested publicly about the incident two weeks later, seeking assurance from Ethiopian authorities.

The incident was said to have been authorised by a senior government official who was annoyed with the nagging of the AfDB staff over accountability for some disbursed funds. The two senior staff had since been relocated, a source told The EastAfrican earlier this month.

"This was a gross violation of their personal diplomatic immunities, rights, and privileges under AfDB Group’s Host Country Agreement with the government of Ethiopia," the bank said on Wednesday.

AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina had directly reached out to Dr Abiy after the incident, and followed it a high-level delegation to Addis on November 22

“The assessment from the bank’s delegation indicates that the situation is still not yet resolved in a satisfactory manner. 

"It also does not provide full confidence that all the AfDB’s employees feel safe and secure to carry out their duties and move around the country without fear of harassment," Adesina said.

 Ethiopia reportedly refused to share with the bank any report, or details of investigations into the incident.

Read: Ethiopia scraps bid to end Tigray abuses probe

"The incident has also raised concerns among the bank’s shareholders, other multilateral development lenders, international financial institutions, the broader diplomatic community, and other stakeholders.” 

Adesina emphasized AfDB will do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of its personnel, and the protection of their rights and privileges in the conduct of their work.

“While the bank appreciates the excellent relations it has with Ethiopia until this egregious incident, its continued operations and future presence in the country could be negatively affected if the incident is not fully resolved.”

Ethiopia did not immediately comment on the matter.