Ethiopian authorities say they have intercepted tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition allegedly sent by Eritrea to an armed rebel group operating inside Ethiopia, a claim that has further heightened fears of renewed conflict between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
Eritrea has firmly rejected the accusation, accusing Ethiopia’s government of manufacturing allegations in order to justify a long-planned military confrontation.
The claim comes at an especially sensitive time for relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose history has been marked by decades of hostility, armed conflict, and fragile reconciliation efforts. Recent diplomatic gains following Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 civil war have increasingly been overshadowed by sharp rhetoric and disputes, particularly over Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, Ethiopian police announced in a statement posted on Facebook that they had seized more than 56,000 rounds of ammunition in the Amhara region. Authorities said the weapons were intended to supply the Fano armed group, a militia that has been fighting Ethiopian government forces and now controls large areas of Amhara.
Police said two individuals were arrested at the scene and described as being caught “red-handed”. According to officials, preliminary investigations indicated that the ammunition originated from the Eritrean government.
“The preliminary investigation conducted on the two suspects who were caught red-handed has confirmed that the ammunition was sent by the Shabiya government,” the statement said, using a term commonly used to refer to Eritrea’s ruling party.
Eritrea’s Information Minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, strongly denied the allegations. He accused Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party of deliberately spreading false claims as a pretext for war.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have long been volatile. Eritrea formally gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a prolonged armed struggle, leaving Ethiopia without direct access to the sea. Eritrea controls a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, a strategic reality that has shaped regional tensions for decades.
Five years after Eritrea’s independence, the two countries fought a brutal border war that claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
In 2018, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a landmark peace agreement aimed at restoring diplomatic relations. Eritrean forces later fought alongside Ethiopian government troops during the civil war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which erupted in 2020.
However, relations deteriorated again when Eritrea was excluded from the peace agreement that ended the Tigray conflict in November 2022.
Since then, Ethiopia has struggled to contain a growing insurgency led by the Fano militia in the Amhara region, which borders Tigray. Eritrea has repeatedly denied accusations that it has interfered in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.
Tensions have further escalated in recent months following Ethiopia’s renewed calls for access to the Red Sea, potentially through Eritrean territory. Prime Minister Abiy first publicly stated in 2023 that access to the sea was an existential issue for Ethiopia — a position Eritrea has rejected outright.
Earlier this week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, speaking to state-run media, accused Ethiopia’s ruling party of effectively declaring war on Eritrea. While insisting that Eritrea did not seek conflict, he warned: “We know how to defend our nation.”
Prime Minister Abiy has repeatedly stated that Ethiopia does not intend to wage war against Eritrea and says the issue of maritime access should be resolved through dialogue rather than confrontation.
Despite these assurances, analysts warn that the seizure of ammunition and the escalating rhetoric on both sides reflect a dangerous slide toward renewed instability in a region with a long history of devastating conflict.
