Instability in the Horn of Africa region is leading to renewed tensions between landlocked Ethiopia and rival Eritrea after a brief détente during the Tigray war, which ended in 2022. Ethiopia is eager to gain direct access to the Red Sea, which it once enjoyed through the Eritrean port of Assab. Social media accounts are spreading images and videos claiming to show Ethiopian warships and troops regaining control of Assab port. But the posts are false and experts say the disinformation is adding to concerns about an imminent war breaking out.

Restoring access to the Red Sea is a burning ambition for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who told parliament in 2023: “Ethiopia is a nation whose existence is tied to the Red Sea” (archived here).

One route is via Somaliland, the unrecognised state with which Abiy signed a deal in 2024 giving his country use of the territory’s Berbera seaport, a move that annoyed Somalia (archived here)

Another avenue, according to posts on social media, is Assab, a harbour that was once part of Ethiopia before Eritrea gained independence in 1993 and assumed control.

Both options, real or imagined, are prickly subjects in the Horn of Africa where “misinformation and disinformation are further destabilising the fragile political context in the region”, said Kjetil Tronvoll, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Oslo New University College (archived here).

Advertisement

On February 25, 2025, a video published on Facebook claimed Abiy had...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAFBVV95cUxPVEpoS2NyT1BLVzBSUE9pODdk...