Africa-Press – Eritrea. Eritrea accused its neighbor Ethiopia on Saturday of destabilizing the region, in the latest round of verbal conflict between the two rival nations in the Horn of Africa.
In a statement issued by the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asmara accused the Prosperity Party, led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, of “effectively destabilizing the Horn of Africa.”
The statement read: “While Eritrea has adhered to a strict strategic patience, Addis Ababa has engaged in a continuous escalation of its war rhetoric for over three years, ignoring international treaties, and actively hosting, training, and funding sectarian proxy groups with a clear agenda to change the regime against Eritrea.”
Eritrea, which has been ruled by Isaias Afwerki with an iron fist since independence, also accused Addis Ababa of “harboring, supporting, and encouraging” the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, a paramilitary group engaged in a devastating civil war with the Sudanese army since 2023.
Verbal Conflict
In February, the verbal conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalated, with Eritrea deeming the Ethiopian accusations “false and fabricated,” following Addis Ababa’s demand for Asmara to withdraw its forces immediately from its territory amid rising tensions that threaten a new conflict between the two countries in the Horn of Africa.
Since January, battles have erupted between the Ethiopian army and Tigray regional forces in several areas.
A peace agreement was signed in Pretoria in November 2022 between the Ethiopian government and Tigray authorities, which ended the war in the region, but Eritrea did not participate in the negotiations.
Since the end of that war in late 2022, relations have deteriorated again, with Eritrea claiming that landlocked Ethiopia covets its port of Assab.
Eritrean forces remain in Tigray, contrary to the peace agreement that implicitly called for their withdrawal, and they are currently accused by Ethiopian authorities of allying with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and “actively preparing for war” against Ethiopia.
It is noted that relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have historically been tense, with Addis Ababa accusing its neighbor in recent months of supporting rebels in Tigray and Amhara, which Asmara has denied.
Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after decades of armed turmoil, followed by a two-year war from 1998 to 2000 that left tens of thousands dead and led to a freeze in diplomatic relations.
