Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalated on Friday after Addis Ababa accused its northern neighbour of carrying out a “blatant act of aggression” on its territory and said Eritrean forces had advanced 60 kilometres into the Tigray region. Asmara responded by accusing the Ethiopian government of seeking to ignite a war to obtain access to the Red Sea.
Ethiopia informs UN of Eritrean incursion
Ethiopia sent a letter to the United Nations accusing Eritrea of violating its sovereignty and entering its territory. The details and timing of the military movements remained unclear immediately, and it was not possible to independently verify the entry of Eritrean forces or the distance Addis Ababa said they had covered inside Tigray.
The Ethiopian accusations coincided with reports that Eritrean forces had entered the region in northern Ethiopia and had come under strikes carried out by Ethiopian drones. The reported entry and air strikes were not independently confirmed, while the renewed fighting raised fears that it could expand into a regional military confrontation.
Asmara links tensions to demand for access to the sea
The Eritrean Ministry of Information, meanwhile, said the Ethiopian threats were not linked solely to recent developments but dated back to October 2023, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed raised the issue of obtaining access to the sea for his country. The ministry said remarks made by Abiy Ahmed before parliament on 13 October 2023 marked the beginning of a hostile Ethiopian policy towards Eritrea.
According to the Eritrean account, Abiy Ahmed announced at the time that Ethiopia was seeking “sovereign access to the sea”, through negotiations if possible and by force if necessary. Asmara said it responded at the time by calling for restraint and confirmed that it would not be drawn into what it described as Ethiopian provocations.
The Eritrean Ministry of Information accused the Ethiopian prime minister of repeatedly launching campaigns to rally domestic support for his Red Sea agenda. It also accused Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party of citing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights as a precedent that could be used to justify a claim to the Eritrean city of Assab and its port overlooking the Red Sea.
The ministry added that Ethiopian officials had questioned Eritrea’s independence through remarks claiming that the archives of Ethiopian government institutions contained no legal documents relating to its independence. Asmara placed those remarks within what it described as a hostile policy pursued by the Ethiopian government for more than three years, ultimately aimed at reaching the Eritrean coast.
The Eritrean Ministry of Information also referred to remarks it attributed to the Ethiopian army chief of staff, saying he had indicated that military operations would not stop at Tigray. According to the Eritrean account, the remarks said Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, was merely a stop along the way and that the final destination was the port of Assab, with the aim of raising the Ethiopian flag on the Red Sea.
