Ethiopia will not attack any country for seaport, says PM Abiy Ahmed

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has ruled out invading any country as he sees ways his country can access the sea, a move geared towards reducing the cost of importation which has literally grounded economic activities in the Horn of Africa nation.

A few weeks ago, Abiy Ahmed insisted the country was seeking ways of accessing the sea, which is literally blocked by neighboring Eritrea. The two were once one country before Asmara seceded, subsequently, getting internationally recognized..

According to the PM, the landlocked nation had a right to access the Red Sea as much as possible through peaceful means, raising tensions with regional governments and the specter of a fresh conflict in the Horn of Africa. Normalcy was restored between the two nations in 2019.

Eritrea had termed Abiy Ahmed's remarks as "excessive and provocative" in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two nations have since moved their troops closer to the shared order according to several diplomatic sources.

"Ethiopia has never invaded any country and now Ethiopia has no intention to invade any country," Abiy told thousands of soldiers gathered in the capital Addis Ababa to celebrate the national army on Thursday.

Abiy said Ethiopia would not pursue its interests "through force", and that "it wouldn't pull the trigger on its fellow brothers."

In the days following the exchange, Eritrea deployed troops in the town of Bure, along the border with Ethiopia's Afar region, while Ethiopia moved troops towards that same border, two diplomats and one humanitarian said as reported by Reuters.

President Isaias Afwerki has been working closely with Abiy Ahmed and at some point, Eritrea deployed soldiers to Ethiopia during the conflict between the national army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF]. Abiy Ahmed had restored ties between Addis Ababa and Asmara in 2019.

"It's an open secret that relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have grown ever frostier over the past year," said Alan Boswell, project director, Horn of Africa, at the International Crisis Group.

"There are major concerns around the region that the relationship could deteriorate further and risk outright hostility."

In response to Abiy's latest comments, a senior official from Djibouti, which hosts naval bases for several nations including the United States and China, said his country was sovereign.

"Our territorial integrity cannot be disputed today, or tomorrow," said Alexis Mohamed, a senior adviser to Djibouti's president. Addis Ababa is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa but strains with the importation of goods and services.

GAROWE ONLINE