The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has downplayed a controversial article published by former President Mulatu Teshome (PhD) on Aljazeera as “personal” following backlash from the Eritrean government and other critics.
In his recent unusual opinion piece, Mulatu, a close ally of the Ethiopian government, accused Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki of working to reignite conflict in northern Ethiopia.
“His cynical and dangerous machinations are now threatening to undo the Pretoria Peace Agreement. The world must act. Diplomatic pressure is needed to deter those who want to see an end to peace, like Isaias. The Pretoria Peace Agreement must be defended,” reads the article.
The piece drew the ire of Eritrean officials.
“Classically, Ethiopia’s former figure-head President raises a false-flag alarm to accuse Eritrea of stoking a ‘new conflict in the Horn of Africa.’ Audacious claim is intended to conceal and rationalize a war-mongering agenda,” reads a response from Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.
Amidst all the back-and-forth speculation about the increasing tension between the two countries, diplomatic rumors have swirled that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), led by Debretsion Gebremichael, is communicating with Eritrea.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nebiyat Getachew, responded to a query during his weekly media briefing about whether there is a threat from Eritrea, as the former President alleged.
“The article published by the former President is a personal opinion based on his personal experience in the region,” said Nebiyat.
As tensions between Addis Ababa and Asmara grow, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and the European Union have urged Eritrean forces to withdraw from Ethiopian territory.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council 58th session in Geneva, Switzerland, said that the Eritrean Defense Forces have continued to carry out grave crimes in Tigray and elsewhere with total impunity.
After a rapprochement between former enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia in 2018, Asmara sent troops to fight alongside Ethiopian federal troops against separatist rebels during the two-year conflict in Tigray, Amhara, Afar, and Oromia.
According to the UN statement, the Eritrean authorities remain responsible for widespread alleged serious crimes, including those inside neighboring Ethiopia, the forum heard.
During an Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Eritrea held on 27 February 2025, the EU made a statement calling on the government of Eritrea to complete the full withdrawal of any remaining troops from Ethiopian territory.
Furthermore, the EU called for credible, independent investigations into alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law committed during the war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to provide justice to all victims, including Eritreans who had found refuge in Ethiopia.
