Information Note Regarding Eritrea-Ethiopia Relations

(Document circulated to UNSC Member States on 13 October yesterday in response to “Ethiopia’s Note on Current Developments” of 11 October 2026)

Over the past three years, the Government of Ethiopia has sustained and progressively intensified its unprovoked war agenda against Eritrea under the rubric of acquiring “Sovereign access to the sea, through negotiations if possible and force if necessary”, in violation of the UN Charter and the 2018 Peace and Friendship Agreement between the two countries. Ethiopia’s acts of aggression and destabilization include the pronounced establishment of a Naval Force with jurisdiction over and strategic depth in Eritrea’s southern coastal region.

Taken together, these developments are tantamount to, and constitute, a brazen violation of Eritrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in breach of the prohibition of the threat or use of force under Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations.

Ethiopia’s Red Sea Access Campaign: Background and Recent Developments

The principal developments include:

• In July 2023, PM Abiy Ahmed delivered a closed-door briefing to federal lawmakers and military officials – subsequently broadcasted to the public – explicitly claiming an “inherent right” to the Red Sea, framing it as an existential imperative that would inevitably lead to military conflict if ignored.
• This expansionist claim was amplified by the President of the Oromia region (October 7, 2023) and senior ambassadors, who provocatively declared that traditional Oromo celebrations (Irrecha) would be held along the Red Sea coast, while military generals publicly displayed maps incorporating Eritrea’s southern coastline.
• On October 13, 2023, PM Abiy publicly declared an ambition to secure “sovereign access to the sea by any means necessary,” stating Ethiopia would not remain a “prisoner of geography.”
• In subsequent briefings to the House of the People’s Representatives on February 2, 2026, Abiy drew direct inspiration from Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights, signaling a clear intent to annex the sovereign Eritrean Port of Assab by force.
• During the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, held on February 15, 2025 (during an executive council session), an official map incorporating sovereign Eritrean and Somali territories – including the Port of Assab – was displayed directly behind the Ethiopian President breaching continental and international law.
• On September 2, 2025, Major General Teshome Gemechu, Head of Foreign Relations Department of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces stated, “the Red Sea belongs to Ethiopia. We will take it back at any cost! Assab is Ethiopia’s Red Sea province.”
• In an absolute violation of international law, on October 28, 2025, the Prime Minister further publicly bragged that he “has found no document that asserts Eritrea’s independence,” while PP state media channels actively called on citizens to mobilize and “withdraw” recognition of Eritrea’s 1993 sovereignty, labeling it a “historical mistake.”
• On November 3, 2025, Ethiopia’s former Ambassador to Kenya, Retired General Bacha Debele, explicitly stated in a public interview that the Port of Assab is an “Ethiopian asset” and alluded to operational strategies to seize it using military force.
• On February 22, 2026, during a Special Forces graduation in Awassa, PM Abiy defined the military’s mission as “ensuring and maintaining the security of the Red Sea from the edge of Somalia to the Port of Massawa.”
• On September 21, 2026, Ambassador Dina Mufti, a member of the Federal Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, reiterated that Ethiopia’s quest for sovereign sea access is non-negotiable and aggressively demanded international pressure against Eritrea.
• On 27 September last month, the Ethiopian Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff, General Abebaw Tadesse, openly declared that “the offensive launched in Tigray will not stop there”. He went on to state: “Mekelle is a mere stop-over, our ultimate destination is Assab; our main objective is to install our flag in the Red Sea”.
• On October 12, 2026, Lencho Bati, Director General of Ethiopia’s Diaspora Service, ranted “the Ethiopian military that suffered in the deserts of Tigray, will not stop before taking off its shoes by the Red Sea and wash its feet on Eritrean Red Sea waters.”
• As recent as October 11, 2026 – the Ethiopian Air Force Commander General Yilma Merdasa stated that their main goal is the recovery of sea access, particularly through the Eritrean port of Assab.

The Pretoria Agreement and Ethiopia’s Internal Political and Security Challenges

Eritrea’s position is that the Pretoria Agreement of 2 November 2022 is an internal Ethiopian agreement between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Eritrea is not a party to the Agreement and has no role in its implementation.

Allegations of Support for Armed Groups Targeting Eritrea

The Government of Eritrea further raises concerns that Ethiopian territory has been used to host anti-Eritrea armed groups. In this context, Eritrea draws attention to the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO), which is profiled by the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC) and has been associated in open-source reporting with armed activity directed against the Eritrean Government. Moreover, Ethiopia continues to publicly harbor various ‘color-revolution’ fringe groups, whose terrorist nature was confirmed by Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office. Eritrea further maintains that other anti-Eritrean groups have also operated from Ethiopian territory and have received all kinds military and logistical support.

Deterioration of Eritrea–Ethiopia Diplomatic Relations

The deterioration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia must be considered against the broader backdrop of escalating rhetoric on Red Sea access and growing bilateral tensions. From Eritrea’s perspective, the diplomatic rupture was preceded by developments suggesting a progressive weakening of normal bilateral communication.

The following sequence of events warrants clarification and scrutiny:

• Since May 2026: The Ethiopian Embassy in Asmara ceased responding to official communications and substantially curtailed engagement with Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, impeding established diplomatic channels.
• 8 August 2026: The Ethiopian government effectively abandoned its Embassy in Asmara at 5:00 PM, when the remaining four Ethiopian diplomatic staff members quietly left Eritrea via Tarco Airways. They intentionally failed to notify the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The circumstances of their departure would merit clarification considering the normal requirements of diplomatic practice and communication between receiving and sending States.
• 1 October 2026: the Ethiopian government following its announcement to close its Embassy in Asmara on October 1, 2026, expelled all ten Eritrean diplomats, including the Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy accredited as Permanent Representative to AU and UNECA as well as all three diplomats covering the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). This act flagrantly violates the 2000 AU constitutive Act, the 1965 General Convention on the Immunities and Privileges of the OAU, the 2008 AU-Ethiopia Headquarters Agreements, and the 1958 UNECA-Ethiopia Headquarters Agreement.

As it happens, what Ethiopia initiated against Eritrea is not an isolated incident; it has since solidified into a dangerous pattern of regional destabilization and expansionism across the Horn of Africa, as demonstrated by the following actions:

• Ethiopia continues to provide military and logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through a secret military base in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, serving as an active conduit for weapons, drones, and mercenaries that have worsened the catastrophic civil war in Sudan.
• The Ethiopian government has been involved in a massive shopping spree of weapons sponsored by destabilizing external actors.

To the Security Council

As explicitly stated in statement to the UNSC on 9 October last week, Eritrea calls on the UN Security Council to condemn Ethiopia’s deplorable declaration of war against Eritrea, which will inculcate huge devastation to the peoples of both countries and destabilize the whole region, and take the requisite deterrent measures against it in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Eritrea calls on the Security Council to urge Ethiopia to respect Eritrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from actions and rhetoric aimed at undermining Eritrea’s independence and territorial integrity.

Conclusion

There is no good faith dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia.  The tensions stems from and is fully predicated on Ethiopia’s unprovoked and declared policy of aggression against Eritrea.