Ethiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of collaborating with a hardline faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in an alleged plan to launch a new war against Addis Ababa.
The accusation was contained in a letter from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, obtained by AFP on Wednesday.
“The collusion between the Eritrean government and the TPLF has become more evident over the past few months… The hardliner faction of the TPLF and the Eritrean government are actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia,” the foreign minister wrote.
The TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades before being sidelined by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration, was banned from political activity after the two-year civil war in northern Ethiopia ended with a peace agreement in November 2022.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, once allies against the TPLF, have deteriorated sharply in recent months. The growing tension has heightened fears of renewed instability in the Horn of Africa, a region already grappling with conflict, drought, and humanitarian crises.