Abiy Ahmed says Eritrea gains nothing by serving as a base for Ethiopia's enemies and warns that ignoring Ethiopia's calls will have "very severe consequences"

In an interview with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, reported by the Ethiopian News Agency on Tuesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the TPLF had been preparing for another round of war and had violated the Pretoria Agreement, while the federal government had met its own obligations under it. He accused the TPLF of buying and seeking weapons, recruiting young people and closing banks, telecoms and airline services, and called on Tigrayan youth to stop fighting: "Instead of pulling a trigger, your fingers should be on a computer. Lay down your Kalashnikov and return to development." In the same interview he said Massawa had been emptied and Assab reduced to a ghost town. The TPLF has not responded to the remarks.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a speech in Tigrinya on Monday, said Eritrea gains nothing by serving as a base for Ethiopia's enemies instead of being a partner in development, and said: "I believe that ignoring our calls will have very, very, very severe consequences." He said good neighbourly relations and partnership are the only way forward, that Eritrean cities today "seem like ghost towns", and that the TPLF's existence is coming to an end. AFP said it was his first substantial comment after weeks of fighting in northern Ethiopia. Eritrea has not responded so far.