CAIRO — While the conflict rages in the Ethiopian Tigray region, a high-ranking delegation from Eritrea arrived in Cairo Nov. 17 for a visit that raised questions about the Egyptian position on the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia and the motives behind the Eritrean ally’s visit at this time. On Nov. 3, the Ethiopian Federal Government’s military action escalated against the local forces in the Tigray region, causing hundreds of deaths and displacing thousands of people outside the borders toward Sudan. The Ethiopian conflict was met with silence on the official Egyptian level, but Egyptian media close to the government criticized the behavior of Nobel Peace Prize winner Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for fueling the conflict in his country. Hassan stressed that Egypt is keen on the stability of Sudan and Eritrea, since there are concerns about the Ethiopian conflict spreading to neighboring countries such as Eritrea, whose airport was bombed, and Sudan, to which thousands of Ethiopian refugees have flocked to escape the conflict. However, she ruled out the possibility of Egypt providing military support to Eritrea in the conflict, given Egypt's traditional historical policy of distancing itself from inter-ethnic conflicts in Africa.

Source: Ethiopian News November 20, 2020 05:48 UTC