Ethiopia said on Thursday it was making military preparations for any possible invasion by arch-foe and neighbour Eritrea, against whom it fought a devastating border war in 1998 to 2000.
”It is deemed necessary to make the necessary military preparation for deterring a possible Eritrean invasion and to repulse such an invasion should it occur,” Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Parliament.
Meles did not give specific information of any new threat, but his comments ratcheted up the long-hostile rhetoric between the two Horn of Africa nations.
Officials from Eritrea, which denies any plan to invade Ethiopia, were not immediately available for comment.
After a three-decade guerrilla war, Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. Their subsequent border war cost about 70 000 lives.
Unresolved tensions over the border have been compounded in the last year by differences between Eritrea and Ethiopia over Somalia — where they back different sides — and Addis Ababa’s accusations that Asmara is arming anti-Meles rebel groups.
”It’s obvious that the government of Eritrea will never miss an opportunity to carry out aggression against Ethiopia should there be an opportunity,” Meles said.
Ethiopia’s military preparations so far were, however, ”satisfactory”, he added. ”We will nonetheless continue to give all the necessary attention to the continued bolstering of our defence capacity until peace is fully realised.” — Reuters