"Tensions between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have escalated after Ethiopian police said they had seized a lorry full of ammunition allegedly sent from Eritrea to Ethiopian Fano rebels based in Amhara state. Fano rebels have waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian military since 2023. He said the "regime is floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years.""
"Eritrea's independence in 1993 meant Ethiopia lost its gateway to the Red Sea, which Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sees as a defining strategic constraint for Africa's second-most populous country. 90% of Ethiopia's maritime trade now funnels through Djibouti, a dependence Ethiopian officials argue leaves the country exposed to rising costs, logistical choke points and shifting geopolitical alliances."
"Asmara views Assab, just 75 kilometers from the Ethiopian border, as a core pillar of sovereignty earned through a long independence struggle, which included a war with Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000 that killed tens of thousands. Earlier this week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki told state-media Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party had declared war on his country."
Ethiopian police seized a lorry of ammunition allegedly sent from Eritrea to Fano rebels in Amhara, while Fano has waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian military since 2023. Eritrea accused Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party of seeking a pretext to attack and claimed false-flag operations aimed to justify war. The confrontation sits alongside a long-running dispute over Ethiopia's loss of sea access after Eritrea's 1993 independence. Around 90% of Ethiopia's maritime trade moves through Djibouti, creating economic and logistical vulnerabilities. Eritrea regards the port of Assab as vital sovereign territory and references the 1998–2000 war and deep-rooted anger over perceived threats.
Read at www.dw.com
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