Eritrea, Ethiopia border tension

ASMARA – Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has blamed soaring border tensions with arch-rival Ethiopia on a political “crisis” in Addis Ababa which is stoking fears of a new war to divert attention from problems at home.

In a rare interview broadcast on national television at the weekend, Isaias downplayed the imminent risk of renewed conflict with Eritrea’s southern neighbour but reiterated that Asmara’s patience with Ethiopia was running thin. “Statements about the resumption of imminent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia are the invention of the TPLF and its collaborators designed to divert (attention from) the prevailing internal crisis in Ethiopia,” he said.”Statements about the resumption of imminent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia are the invention of the TPLF and its collaborators designed to divert (attention from) the prevailing internal crisis in Ethiopia,” he said.