Ethiopia, Eritrea ramp up rhetoric: Are they inching towards war?

What the report says

Ethiopia and Eritrea have sharply escalated their public accusations at the United Nations, deepening concerns that fighting in northern Ethiopia could spread into a broader interstate conflict. According to Al Jazeera, Ethiopia told the UN Security Council that Eritrean troops had moved into Tigray, which Addis Ababa described as a violation of sovereignty. Eritrea rejected the charge and said Ethiopia was using the claim to justify an offensive.

The exchange comes amid renewed combat in Tigray, where Ethiopian government forces and allied groups have advanced in recent days. Al Jazeera reported that rebels linked to the Tigray conflict launched attacks across parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar, while government-backed forces later retook areas including Mekelle’s airport and moved into towns such as Adigrat, Idaga Hamus and Abiy-Adi. Some reports cited by the outlet suggested Eritrean personnel may have crossed the border, but those claims were not independently verified in the article.

The dispute also reflects a wider struggle over Ethiopia’s demand for access to the Red Sea, which Eritrea views as a security threat. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera warned that the situation could destabilize the Horn of Africa and affect Sudan, Somalia and regional Red Sea security. The article noted that Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war in 1998-2000 and were later aligned during Ethiopia’s 2020-2022 Tigray war, before relations soured again after the 2022 peace deal.