Washington urges Ethiopia and Eritrea to exercise restraint: Horn of Africa cannot bear escalation
Washington has warned that the Horn of Africa “cannot withstand a new military conflict and a humanitarian crisis,” as regional tensions escalate amid renewed fighting in Ethiopia between the federal forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is allied with six other organizations aiming to overthrow his rule.
In a significant setback for the TPLF and its allied opposition coalition, Ethiopian federal forces, backed by allied local militias, managed to enter Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, and regain control of the city. This marked a notable advance, although it does not necessarily signal the end of fighting in the region.
Amid this escalation, the United States has called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to exercise restraint and return to dialogue, warning of the repercussions of growing tensions between the two countries on the entire region.
In a statement issued yesterday, the U.S. Department of State said, “Growing border tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea could affect the entire region. The Horn of Africa cannot bear another military conflict and a humanitarian crisis.”
Meanwhile, Ethiopia is accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces, which have been engaged in a war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since 2023.
Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have long been strained due to Addis Ababa’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River. During recent months, Cairo has strengthened its ties with Eritrea. Somalia is also closely monitoring the rapprochement between Addis Ababa and Somaliland, which declared its independence in 1991.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi urged African leaders to pursue dialogue rather than confrontation over cross-border issues, amid rising tensions on the continent and the resumption of conflict in Ethiopia, which has accused neighboring countries of interfering in its internal affairs.
Speaking at the opening session of the coordination meeting between the African Union and regional economic communities in the Egyptian city of Alamein, el-Sisi said, “We emphasize here the importance of addressing cross-border issues as matters requiring cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation, including the management and use of natural resources and transboundary rivers.” El-Sisi’s remarks came ahead of a mini-summit of Ethiopia’s neighboring countries—Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea—which focused on diplomatic tensions with Addis Ababa.
