Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of plotting to reignite hostilities by collaborating with a faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), warning that the two were preparing for war amid heightened tensions over access to the Red Sea.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos claimed that Eritrea’s alleged coordination with a TPLF faction had become “more evident over the past few months.” The letter, which has been widely shared on social media by Ethiopian government supporters, accuses Eritrea of funding and guiding armed groups to destabilise Ethiopia.
“The hardliner faction of the TPLF and the Eritrean government are actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia,” the letter read, according to AFP. Eritrea has not yet issued a response to the accusations.
Relations between the two neighbours, once allies, have worsened in recent months as Ethiopia renews calls to regain access to the Red Sea. Eritrea’s control of the coastline since its independence in 1993 has become a growing source of tension, with Addis Ababa’s statements causing alarm in Asmara.
If the allegations are accurate, Eritrea’s actions could amount to a proxy war aimed at frustrating Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration and deterring any possible attempt by Ethiopia to seize access to the ports along the Red Sea.
The two countries last fought between 1998 and 2000 over the border town of Badme, a conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives. Although Abiy mended ties with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki after taking office in 2018, that alliance has since fractured, particularly following disputes linked to the peace deal that ended the Tigray conflict in 2022.
The letter also accused Eritrea and TPLF hardliners of supporting militia groups in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The Amhara-based Fano militias, once allies of the federal government in the war against the TPLF, have turned their weapons against Addis Ababa after rejecting a disarmament plan.
According to Ethiopia’s privately owned Addis Standard newspaper, the foreign minister alleged that Eritrea and TPLF fighters helped Fano forces in an attempt to capture the town of Woldiya in September. The letter further claimed that TPLF commanders and combatants had taken part directly in the attack.
Fighting in Amhara has intensified, with the Fano expanding their agenda from local grievances to what they now describe as a mission to overthrow the government, accusing it of targeting the Amhara ethnic group.
The TPLF itself is divided. One faction led by Debretsion Gebremichael governs the Tigray region and accuses the federal government of failing to implement parts of the 2022 peace agreement. Another, under Getachew Reda, is accused by the Debretsion camp of working with Addis Ababa.
Eritrea, which sided with Ethiopia’s army during the Tigray war but was excluded from the peace accord, now stands accused of aligning with Debretsion’s faction against Abiy’s government.
Ethiopia’s push for access to the Red Sea has also sparked a war of words. In parliament earlier this week, President Taye Atske Selassie called the Red Sea and the River Nile “great water resources, which are essential to our country's existence.”
Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel dismissed those remarks as “too crass and pathetic to sell,” describing Ethiopia’s fixation on the Red Sea and the Nile as “bizarre and mind-boggling by all standards.”
Since October 2023, Addis Ababa has been rallying diplomatic and regional support to secure a maritime outlet, saying it erred in losing direct access to the sea when Eritrea gained independence. The escalating rhetoric has raised fears of a new confrontation between the two Horn of Africa nations.