Eritrea: We are not responsible for conflicts in the Horn of Africa

ASMARA - Eritrea has refuted claims that it is responsible for endless conflicts in the Horn of Africa, shunning the statement issued by former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome, who linked Asmara directly to the current crisis in the Tigray region.

Ethiopia, Eritrea said, should not blame neighbors for internal conflicts emanating from local differences. Yemane Meskel, Eritrea's minister of information, said Ethiopia was intended to 'conceal and rationalize a warmongering agenda'.

“Eritrea has always upheld its commitment to peace and regional stability. The issues Ethiopia faces today stem from its internal political dynamics, and scapegoating Eritrea will not provide a solution,” Yemane stated.

Eritrean also blamed the 1998-2000 bloody border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia on the Ethiopian government’s occupation of Eritrean territories. Ties between the two countries were only reinstated in 2018 when Abiy Ahmed assumed leadership.

During the Tigray war recently, Eritrean Defence Forces were accused of crossing over to Ethiopia where they allegedly committed atrocities. However, the war ended after the signing of The Pretoria Peace Agreement in South Africa.

"Eritrea has neither the interest nor the appetite to obstruct or interfere,” the statement added, rejecting claims of continued Eritrean military presence in Ethiopian border areas.

Regarding Ethiopia’s internal conflict in the Amhara region, for which the former president blamed President Isaias Afwerki for engineering “a militia”, Eritrea said Ethiopia’s internal conflicts should not be projected onto neighboring states, Addis Standard reports.

“The myriad problems besetting the region originate from Ethiopia, not elsewhere. The solution does not lie in externalizing conflicts or blaming Eritrea.”

GAROWE ONLINE