Borkena
Toronto – The tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea has shown another sign that it is worsening.
Days after Ethiopia submitted a formal complaint to the United Nations alleging that Eritrea, in alliance with Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – which is operating in the Tigray region, is preparing for war, the latter responded.
It was the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geidion Timotheos, who first wrote the letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The Minister alleges that the alliance between Eritrea and the TPLF has become more evident over the past few weeks.
The letter came a week after the Ethiopian Defense force reportedly suffered a blowout loss in a battle against Fano Forces in North Wollo, Amhara region of Ethiopia. As many as 470 government soldiers were reportedly killed.
The Ethiopian government alleged that Eritrea and TPLF were involved in the planning and execution of Fano operation – which Fano Forces dismissed as a “lie”
The AFP report cited that Ethiopian FM stated in his letter that “The hardliner faction of the TPLF and the Eritrean government are actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia.”
The Ministry made a reference to “Tsimdo” – name of the alliance.
Eritrea and TPLF responded to the allegations days after Gedion’s letter.
It stated that Ethiopia has been loud for the past two years that it will get access to the sea if possible peacefully or if necessary by military force. Eritrea’s Minister used the Amharic idiom “‘The whip itself whips and shouts itself.”
Eritrea is accusing Ethiopia of having “territorial expansion” ambition.
Ethiopia has brought the narrative that its access to the sea was taken illegally. Recently two recurring arguments were heard as part of it in the Ethiopian State-owned media outlet. One is that the provisional Meles Zenawi administration did not have a constitutional mandate to hand over Assab port to Eritrea. The other is that Assab did have an autonomous status as was the case with Eritrea and Tigray, at the time of the Eritrean referendum.
The issue of access to the sea is gaining resonance by actors outside of the ruling party. This week, former defense chief of staff Tsadkan Gebretensae, made it public during an interview with NBE Ethiopia that the Meles Zenawi administration made it like a taboo to raise Ethiopia’s access to the sea , and it was suppressed. The interview has become a talking point among activists and politicized Ethiopians including on social media platforms.
Apart from Eritrea, the TPLF has responded to Geidon Timotheos’ allegation. It said the allegation is incorrect and has a “political goal.”
The TPLF also sees the allegation as a distraction on the part of the Ethiopian government to cover that it is violating the Pretoria Agreement which ended the two years bloody war between TPLF and the Federal government.
In a shifting alliance in the Post Pretoria Agreement, Eritrea, a regional actor who bitterly fought against the TPLF in the war between 2020-2022 turned out to be a TPLF ally. The extent of the alliance is yet unclear. In what appears to be a move to send a message that it is not currently working with Eritrea, the TPLF this week made a formal call to Eritrea to “work together” in the face of impending war in the region.
__
Support Borkena : https://borkena.com/subscribe-borkena/
Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena
Like borkena on Facebook
Borkena Ethiopian News Youtube Channel
To submit Press Release, send submission to info@borkena.com
Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory
Join the conversation. Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly.