Eritrea Accuses Ethiopia Of Using Border Issue As ‘pretext To Stoke Conflict’

Eritrea has accused Ethiopia of exploiting the longstanding border dispute between the two nations as a pretext to stoke conflict.

In a recent statement on social media, Eritrea’s Minister of Information, Yemane Gebremeskel, warned of a potential resurgence of hostilities in the Horn of Africa.

His remarks follow accusations by Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) President Getachew Reda, who alleged that Eritrea is seeking to exploit instability in Tigray. During a media briefing in Addis Ababa on Thursday, Getachew described the Eritrean regime as a “rogue element” attempting to benefit from turmoil in the region.

“I know the Eritrean regime is one of those rogue elements who think they can benefit from chaos in Tigray,” said Getachew.

He further claimed that Eritrea considers Tigray a “buffer zone” against potential military action by the Ethiopian government and is using what he described as the “illegal” rogue TPLF faction to drag the region into another conflict.

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Meanwhile, in a recent interview with state media, former Defense Minister Abraham Belay stated that Eritrean forces continue to occupy Tigrayan territories and demanded their immediate withdrawal.

“Shabia [referring to the Eritrean forces] is inside Tigrayan territory; that is a fact. They must withdraw one hundred percent from Tigrayan territory, from our national territory,” he said.

However, Yemane denounced the accusations as “false” and described them as a “pretext for stoking conflict”.

According to him, Eritrean troops were and remain deployed within its sovereign territories.

Yemane further stated that silencing the guns must be the collective commitment of those who care for the well-being of all people in the region, while stressing that Eritrea has no interest in exacerbating internal schisms within the TPLF.

“As the Pretoria Peace Agreement is an internal Ethiopian affair, Eritrea has no interest in scuttling it,” reads his social media post. “Eritrea has no interest in participating within the political factions of the TPLF, which it believes can only entail unnecessary and avoidable suffering to the people of Tigray.”

Yemane argued that the accusations from “conflict entrepreneurs” lack depth and objectivity.

Nevertheless, in an article published in The Africa Report, Tsadkan Gebretensae (Gen.), TIA vice president and member of the regional cabinet, warned that war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is “inevitable,” stating that both countries’ preparations are reaching their “final stages.”

According to the General, Tigray is at risk of becoming the primary battleground for the looming conflict.

“At any moment, war between Ethiopia and Eritrea could break out. It will draw in the whole neighbouring region. Sudan and the security of the Red Sea will be directly affected,” reads the article. “In these strange times when leaders choose violence rather than negotiations, the prospect of war being imposed and Tigray becoming a battlefield for Asmara and Addis Ababa is very real.”

Tsadkan argued that the Eritrean government has a habit of taking advantage of its neighbouring countries, particularly Ethiopia and Sudan.

However, the Eritrean Minister was quick to respond that “Tigray cannot be the battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea”.

Yemane further described Tsadkan as a proponent of a “toxic agenda” against Eritrea; and in particular the forceful annexation of Eritrea’s port of Assab.

“Tsadkan openly lamented the abysmal failure of the Ethiopian regime to use the 1998-2000 border war that it instigated to occupy Assab,” he stated. “This was of course tried during the third offensive. Indeed, the Ethiopian regime signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in June 2000 only after the debacle of its offensive in the Bure/Assab Front.”

Reports stated that Eritrea’s control of disputed areas within Ethiopia’s Tigray region stemmed from its military involvement in the 2020-2022 conflict, where it aligned with the Ethiopian federal government against the TPLF. This presence, particularly in historically contested border zones, has persisted despite the subsequent peace agreement.