Tensions in the Horn of Africa have ratcheted up another notch. On Wednesday, 11 November, Getachew Reda, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s adviser on the region, met Guang Cong, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa. After the meeting, he pointed the finger directly at Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
According to Getachew, Asmara and Khartoum are backing, arming and coordinating armed groups operating in Ethiopia. He also blames them for repeated drone attacks on Ethiopian soil. He set one condition for any genuine dialogue: that this support must stop. Even so, he insisted that talking remains better than fighting. Addis Standard, which reported his remarks, notes that they could not be independently verified.
These accusations follow a string of diplomatic ruptures. On 1 October, Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and declared ten Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, citing hostile acts it did not detail. With Sudan, the spiral began in early November. After Khartoum shut its consulate in Assosa, Addis Ababa ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave within 48 hours on 4 November. The very next day, Sudan retaliated by closing the Ethiopian consulate in Gedaref.
The grievances run both ways. Khartoum accuses Ethiopia of letting the Rapid Support Forces, which are at war with the Sudanese army, use its territory to strike civilian infrastructure in Sudan, and has taken the matter to both the UN Security Council and the African Union. Addis Ababa, for its part, accuses Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea of backing the Tigrayan rebels who launched an offensive in September. Those countries reject the claims.
On the same day, international concern was voiced at the highest level. Meeting in Paris on 9 and 10 November, G7 foreign ministers expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In their joint declaration, published on Wednesday, they warned that regional escalation could have « serious consequences » for stability, for already dire humanitarian crises and for international trade, particularly in the Red Sea. They urged both countries to show restraint and seek a diplomatic solution.
Asmara has not responded directly to Getachew’s accusations. According to the Ethiopian site Frontlines, however, Eritrea’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sophia Tesfamariam, said her country was ready for peace talks, provided Ethiopia ends its military pressure and threats and respects Eritrean sovereignty. It is a cautious opening that hints at a way out, without yet removing the risk of a new conflict in the region.