Ethiopia-Eritrea Tensions Trigger Fears of a Fresh Regional Conflict

The highlights this week: Ethiopia’s push for maritime access sparks renewed tensions with Eritrea , the military stages a coup in Guinea-Bissau , and Nigerians of all faiths face escalating violence .

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The highlights this week: Ethiopia’s push for maritime access sparks renewed tensions with Eritrea, the military stages a coup in Guinea-Bissau, and Nigerians of all faiths face escalating violence.

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Ethiopia-Eritrea Escalation

Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders have traded hostile rhetoric in recent weeks, triggering international fears of a fresh regional conflict. The latest round of tensions has largely been driven by landlocked Ethiopia’s demand for direct access to the Red Sea, which it has described as an “existential matter.”

Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called for international “mediation” with Eritrea to restore this access, which he insisted is “inevitable.” Abiy and his officials have also floated the idea of taking Eritrea’s southern port of Assab by force. Ethiopia became a landlocked country in 1993, when Eritrea gained independence after a 30-year war.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel has argued that Ethiopian officials are attempting to “ignite an unjustified war” with this rhetoric.

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