Ethiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it in collaboration with a faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in the latest sign of growing tensions between the two countries over access to the Red Sea.
According to a letter sent by Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, Gedion Timothewos, to the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the alleged collusion between Eritrea and the TPLF faction has become “more evident over the past few months.”
Eritrea has not yet commented on the allegations, but relations between the two Horn of Africa neighbours have deteriorated in recent months. The BBC reports that Ethiopia’s recent push to regain access to the Red Sea, which Eritrea has controlled since its independence in 1993 has heightened tensions in the region.
If the allegations are true, it would mean Eritrea is supporting armed groups in Ethiopia as part of a proxy war aimed at preventing any potential Ethiopian military incursion to seize ports along the Red Sea.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody border war between 1998 and 2000 over the town of Badme, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. Relations improved in 2018 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace deal, earning Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. However, ties have since soured, largely over Ethiopia’s renewed interest in maritime access.
In the letter seen by the AFP news agency, Minister Gedion accused Eritrea and a hardline TPLF faction of “funding, mobilizing and directing armed groups” in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where the Fano militia has been fighting federal forces.
He alleged that the Eritrean government and the TPLF faction, led by Debretsion Gebremichael, are “actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia.” The letter also accused the two parties of supporting Fano’s attempt to capture the town of Woldiya in September.
The BBC reports that Eritrea is suspected of aligning with the Debretsion-led TPLF faction after being sidelined from the 2022 peace deal that ended the Tigray conflict. The same deal, according to the TPLF, has not been fully implemented by the Ethiopian government.
Meanwhile, fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara region has intensified, with the Fano militia, once allied with the government now accused of launching wider offensives against federal forces.
Analysts say Eritrea feels threatened by Ethiopia’s growing campaign to reclaim access to the Red Sea, a vital trade route. Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister maintains that Eritrea’s actions are an attempt to destabilise the country.
In recent weeks, statements from both sides have become increasingly confrontational. In Ethiopia’s Parliament, Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie described the Red Sea and River Nile as “essential to our country’s existence.” Eritrea’s Information Minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, dismissed the remarks as “too crass and pathetic to sell,” calling Ethiopia’s focus on the Red Sea and Nile “bizarre and mind-boggling.”
The situation has raised fears of renewed conflict in the Horn of Africa, a region already grappling with instability and humanitarian crises.
Source: BBC News
