Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday that his government would not seek conflict with longtime foe Eritrea over access to the Red Sea, after regional officials and experts warned of a possible war between the Horn of Africa neighbours.
Fears of war emerged in recent weeks after Eritrea ordered a nationwide military mobilisation, according to a human rights group, and Ethiopia deployed troops toward the border, diplomatic sources and officials told Reuters.
“Ethiopia does not have any intention of engaging in conflict with Eritrea for the purpose of gaining access to the sea,” Abiy said, according to a post by his office on X.
Although access to the Red Sea was an existential matter for landlocked Ethiopia, his government wanted to address it peacefully via dialogue, Abiy added.
Renewed clashes between two of Africa’s largest armies would end a historic rapprochement for which Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and risk a humanitarian disaster in a region already grappling with fallout from the war in Sudan.
The rapprochement saw Eritrea back Ethiopian federal forces during the 2020-2022 civil war between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s central government, which killed hundreds of thousands of people.
But the neighbours fell out again after Eritrea was frozen out of talks to end that war in November 2022.
Since then, the TPLF has split, with both factions seeking control of the post-war interim administration of the Tigray region.
The current interim administration has accused the dissident faction of collaborating with Eritrea, while the dissidents in turn say their rivals have failed to protect Tigrayan interests.
Each side denies the other’s allegations.
Abiy told parliament on Thursday the term of the interim administration had been extended for one year, with some amendments. He did not elaborate on whether the changes would include new leadership appointments, a key demand of the dissident faction.
“In line with the Pretoria agreement, the interim administration will continue until the next election,” he said, referring to a general election due in 2026.
