Eritrea and Ethiopia have been linked since the former declared independence in 1993, and tens of thousands of people were killed in the war between 1998 and 2000.
According to the Eritrea government, the current tensions are inland at the heart of Ethiopia’s longtime desire to transport to ports.
Afwarki, who has ruled Eritrea with the iron fist since independence, warned Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that Ethiopia’s population is 130 million, compared to Ethiopia’s population of just 3.5 million.
“If you think he can be overwhelmed by a human wave attack (he’s wrong), Afelki told the state television channel ERI-TV.
“We must first deal with and resolve the internal issues of the country before dragging Ethiopians into a war that doesn’t want or use them on another political agenda,” he said.
He called Abiy’s actions a “reckless” attempt to “distract attention” from domestic issues.
Abiy signed a peace agreement with Ahwarki shortly after he came to power in 2018, but a violent conflict broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray province as Eritrean forces supported rebels fighting Ethiopian forces.
At least 600,000 people have died in the conflict, according to estimates from the African Union.
The peace agreement ended the battle, but Eritrea maintains military presence in Tigray, and the relationships between neighbors are getting worse.
Abiy has repeatedly said that Ethiopia must have access to the sea, but by peaceful means.
Last month, a report by a US oversight group accused Eritrea of rebuilding its troops and destabilizing its neighbors.
Eritrea Information Minister Yeman Gebremeskel criticised the Ngo The Sentry report and denounced Ethiopia’s “new tensions in the region.”
Eritrea was under US arms sanctions lifted after the 2018 peace agreement.
Eritrea is the ultimate place of press freedom, consistently ranked in the world’s worst, consistently the worst in the world, according to reporters without borders, and according to the United Nations, it is the 175th party state of 183 for human development in 2022.
MA/PR