Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledges a peaceful approach through dialogue amid recent fears about the potential war between neighbors.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister says that amid recent fears about the potential war between neighbors, his country will not seek conflict with longtime rival Eritrea over access to the Red Sea.
“Ethiopia is not going to face conflict with Eritrea for access to the sea,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Thursday, according to a post from X’s office.
Access to the Red Sea was an existential issue for inland Ethiopia, but he added that the Abiy government wanted to deal with it peacefully through dialogue.
Human rights groups and Ethiopia deployed troops towards the border, fears of war have emerged in recent weeks after Eritrea ordered military mobilization nationwide, diplomatic sources and officials told Reuters.
Abiy’s ambitions to gain access to the sea have angered Eritrea, accusing Eritrea of paying attention to the port of Assab.
“Eritrea is baffled by Ethiopia’s outdated ambitions of access to the sea and “through diplomacy or military force” for naval bases,” Eritrea Information Minister Yeman Gebremeskel said on Tuesday, reflecting what the country’s foreign minister made to the International Diporamat.
In a post in X, Yemane urged the international community to “pressure Ethiopia to respect the sovereignty of its neighbors and the territorial integrity.”
He also said it was allegedly allegedly claimed to be “preparing for a war against Ethiopia.”
Tigrey’s tension
The new clash between Africa’s two largest troops ends the historic reconciliation in 2019, where Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting the humanitarian disaster in the region working on a fallout from the war in Sudan.
From 2020 to 2022, during the civil war between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian Central Government, Eritrean forces crossed the border to fight to support Ethiopia.
However, the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa in November 2022 has driven a new wedge between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This was not a party to the negotiations.
Since then, the TPLF, which runs Tigray’s postwar interim government with Ethiopia’s federal blessing, has been split, with both factions calling for control of the region’s postwar interim government.
The current interim government has accused the opposition of working with Eritrea, but the opposition says their rivals have failed to protect Chiglayan’s interests. Each side denys the other party’s claim.
Abbey told Congress Thursday that the Chigray interim administration’s term has been extended for a year with several amendments. He did not elaborate on whether the change would include the appointment of new leadership.
“In line with the Pretoria Agreement, the interim government will continue until the next election,” he noted the 2026 general election.
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