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Ethiopia’s prime minister reignited the issue of sea access for his landlocked country, potentially further inflaming regional tensions amid renewed fighting in its northern Tigray region. After being sworn in for a second full term, Abiy Ahmed told parliament his government would work diligently to ensure Ethiopia had “an outlet to the sea.” Abiy, who has described this as an existential issue for his country, was not specific but neighboring Eritrea’s Red Sea port of Assab has long been seen by some in the government as a possible prize. It was part of Ethiopia until Eritrea seceded in the 1990s, leaving Ethiopia without a coastline. In a statement prior to Abiy’s remarks, Eritrea, along with Egypt, Somalia, and Sudan, said control of the Red Sea was the “exclusive responsibility” of countries that border it. The tensions over maritime access come with Ethiopia locked in a domestic conflict, as well: An alliance of rebel groups have pledged to overthrow the government four years after the end of a civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
document fetched 2026-10-08 02:56 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/10/07/2026/ethiopias-pm-abiy-ahmed-renews-push-for-red-sea-access