Ethiopian Carrier Halts Eritrea Flights Amid Strained Ties
(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia’s state-owned airline suspended flights to Eritrea, the latest sign of a deterioration in relations between the two neighboring countries.
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The move by the Ethiopian Airlines Group, which came into effect on Tuesday, is the result of “very difficult operating conditions it has encountered in Eritrea that are beyond its control,” the carrier said in a statement posted on social media platform X. It didn’t elaborate.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have a long history of adversary. They fought a three-decade war that resulted in Eritrea gaining independence in 1991, depriving Ethiopia of direct access to the sea. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace deal with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in 2018, but ties have since been strained by Eritrea’s backing of an anti-government militia in Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa’s quest to secure a port in the Gulf of Aden has also heightened regional tensions.
In January, Abiy unveiled a proposal to secure access to a harbor in Somaliland — a semi-autonomous region of Somalia — in return for a stake in Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopia also said it will consider recognizing Somaliland as an independent nation, triggering a war of words with Somalia.
Ethiopia and Eritrea joined forces in a two-year war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which controlled Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and was one of Isaias’ oldest foes. That conflict ended in 2022.
“This matter annoyed Isaias a lot, because he did not want to stop the war except by completely eliminating the TPLF and its army,” said Negash Osman, chairman of the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change, a coalition of political parties and civil rights groups. He warned that gains made since the conclusion of the 2018 peace deal had been erased and there was a risk of renewed fighting.
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s biggest carrier, resumed flights to Eritrea after the peace agreement following an absence of two decades.
The Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority informed the carrier at the end of August that it would no longer be permitted to repatriate funds to Ethiopia, according to Mesfin Tasew, the airline’s chief executive officer.
“Our representative was told the company’s account is fully blocked and we can not even use our account for local payments,” he told reporters on Tuesday. Moreover, the regulator ordered the airline in a March 26 letter to compensate passengers for late baggage deliveries, and reduce its weekly flights to Eritrea from 14 to 10 using only narrow-body aircraft, he said.
Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrea’s Information Minister, didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.
In May, hundreds of members of Brigade N’hamedu, a youth movement that has staged demonstrations against Isaias’ decades-long rule, convened a convention in Addis Ababa.
“That could never have happened without the acceptance of the security services and the prime minister’s office,” said Kjetil Tronvoll, an Ethiopian politics scholar at Bjorknes University College in Norway. “It’s the strongest indication that things are not good and that Abiy is facilitating the most direct threat to Isaias.”
Brigade N’hamedu aims to establish a strategic foothold on Eritrea’s border, and has been permitted to open an office in the Ethiopian capital and recruit and mobilize Eritreans in the country, said Henok Tekle, a US-based member of the group.
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--With assistance from Paul Richardson and Helen Nyambura.
(Updates with analysts’ comments from sixth paragraph.)
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