Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated on Thursday that his government has no intention of engaging in conflict with Eritrea over access to the Red Sea.
His comments come as fears mount over a potential war between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
“Ethiopia does not have any intention of engaging in conflict with Eritrea to gain access to the sea,” Abiy said in a statement posted by his office on X.
While conceding that Red Sea access is a critical issue for landlocked Ethiopia, Abiy reiterated that his administration seeks a peaceful solution through negotiation.
Tensions have grown in recent weeks, following allegations that Eritrea had ordered a full military mobilization, according to a human rights organization.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources and officials told Newsmen that Ethiopia has sent troops to the border, raising worries of further hostilities.
A new confrontation between two of Africa’s strongest armies would not only ruin the historic rapprochement that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but it would also risk igniting a humanitarian crisis in a region currently dealing with the aftermath of Sudan’s war.
Eritrea previously supported Ethiopian federal forces during the 2020–2022 conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s central government—a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
However, relations soured again after Eritrea was excluded from peace talks that ended the conflict in November 2022.
