Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions: Fears of armed confontation grow

By Africanews with AFP

A bitter war of words has escalated further after Ethiopia ordered neighbouring Eritrea to “immediately withdraw its troops” from Ethiopian territory, with the pair seemingly inching towards a new conflict.

Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught.

In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil — allegations Asmara denies.

“Developments over the last few days indicate that the government of Eritrea has chosen the path of further escalation,” Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos told his Eritrean counterpart in a letter dated Saturday.

He demanded that Asmara “withdraw its troops from Ethiopian territory and cease all forms of collaboration with rebel groups”.

The “incursion” along its northwestern borders and joint military operations there were “not just provocations but acts of outright aggression”, he said.

Timothewos added, however, that he believed the “cycle of violence and mistrust” could still be broken through diplomacy.

“If we receive a positive response to our legitimate demand for respect for Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” then Ethiopia will be “willing to engage in good-faith negotiations”, he said.

The Eritrean government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed countries, gained independence in 1993 after decades of armed struggle against Ethiopia.

They later fought a 1998-2000 border war in which tens of thousands died.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed initially sought rapprochement with Eritrea when he came to power, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

The two governments cooperated against rebels from Ethiopia’s Tigray region during the 2020-2022 conflict but fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded.

The Tigray civil war killed at least 600,000 people and the resulting peace deal, known as the Pretoria Agreement, has never fully resolved the tensions.

Ethiopian authorities say Eritrea is “actively preparing for war” and funding armed groups fighting federal forces.

Eritrea meanwhile accuses Ethiopia of seeking to seize its port at Assab as part of the landlocked country’s efforts to gain sea access.