Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Abiy Ahmed announced on Thursday that the government will not engage in conflict with Eritrea, a long-time enemy over the Red Sea access. This comes after officials and experts from the region warned of the possibility of war between the Horn of Africa neighbors.

Abiy, in a statement posted by his office to X, said that "Ethiopia has no intention of engaging Eritrea in armed conflict to gain access to the sea."

Abiy said that while access to the Red Sea is a matter of existential importance for Ethiopians, his government wants to resolve it through dialogue.

In recent weeks, there were fears of war after Eritrea, according to human rights groups, ordered a national military mobilisation and Ethiopia sent troops towards the border. Diplomatic sources and officials confirmed this.

Recurring clashes between the two largest African armies could end the historic rapprochement that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize for in 2019. They would also risk a humanitarian catastrophe in a region still dealing with the aftermath of the Sudan War.

Eritrea supported Ethiopian federal forces in the war that took place between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and Ethiopia's Central Government from 2020-2022, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands.

The neighbours fell apart again after Eritrea's exclusion from talks to end the war in November 2022. Reporting by Dawit Endshaw; Writing and editing by Ammu Kanampilly, Gareth Jones; Elias Biryabarema.

(source: Reuters)