Ethiopian police say they have seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition despatched by Eritrea to a violent armed insurgent group, stoking fears of renewed armed battle.
Eritrea has denied the allegation and accused Ethiopia of “floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years”.
It comes at a risky second for the relationship between the Horn of Africa neighbours, which share a fractious and violent historical past.
Hopes of tentative peace, solid during a 2020-22 civil battle in northern Ethiopia, have of late given manner to a battle of phrases over control of the Red Sea. This newest claim seems to be a signal of further escalation.
On Wednesday, Ethiopian police said in a Facebook assertion that they had seized “more than 56,000 rounds of ammunition” in the Amhara area meant to “arm the Fano” rebels, and had arrested two suspects.
“The preliminary investigation conducted on the two suspects who were caught red-handed has confirmed that the ammunition was sent by the Shabiya government” – a time period for Eritrea’s ruling occasion – they said.
Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel denied the claim and accused Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party (PP) of in search of a pretext to attack.
Relations between the two nations have often been strained.
After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea shoreline, formally seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.
Five years later, a border battle erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.
In 2018, the two nations signed an historic declaration to normalise relations. Eritrean troops then fought in support of the Ethiopia authorities during the civil battle that broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray area.
But relations soured when Eritrea was excluded from the peace deal that ended the battle in November 2022.
In the three years since, Ethiopia’s authorities has been grappling with a violent insurgency, waged by the Fano rebels, who now control massive components of its northern Amhara area.
Eritrea has beforehand denied meddling in Ethiopian affairs.
Ethiopia’s calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea have triggered relations with Eritrea to further strrain in current months.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy first overtly declared in 2023 that his nation’s access to the sea was an existential matter, which Eritrea dismissed.
In an interview earlier this week with state-run media, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accused Abiy’s occasion had declaring battle on his nation.
He said Eritrea did not need battle, but added: “We know how to defend our nation.”
Abiy has said Ethiopia does not search battle with Eritrea and desires to handle the difficulty of sea access through dialogue.
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