New war in Ethiopia: conflagration in Africa

I n international politics, many diplomats express “deep concern” about many ongoing crises. The crises in the Horn of Africa are one of them, from Somalia to Sudan. Now there is a threat of a transnational war in northeast Africa. To put it very simply, the governments of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia independently opposed the government of Ethiopia. All have their own reasons: Egypt is fighting with Ethiopia over control of the Nile, Sudan accuses Ethiopia of supporting the insurgent RSF militia, Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of wanting to expand towards the Red Sea. And Somalia criticizes Ethiopia's support for Somaliland's secession.

A new rebel alliance around the Tigray People's Liberation Army (TPLF) has recently been fighting against Ethiopia's government in its own country. The guerrilla group dominated Ethiopia for decades, but has recently been marginalized and is defending itself against it with all means possible. Fierce fighting is now raging not only in Tigray, the war is also threatening to spread to Eritrea. The fact that the presidents of the four countries met for a summit in Egypt's capital Cairo on Sunday could prove to be the starting signal for a war that will drag the entire northeast of Africa with its around 285 million inhabitants into the abyss.

Unless he is already there. The bloodiest war in the world is currently raging in Sudan, Eritrea has been under a brutal military dictatorship for decades, and Somalia has been torn apart by civil war for decades. Directly opposite is the flashpoint of Yemen, whose control determines the fate of world trade.

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What is curious is that in the middle of it all, the small state of Djibouti is home to the largest concentration of international military contingents in the entire region, with military bases for the USA, France, China, Japan and Italy. Couldn't they also do something about the wars flaring up around them? Unfortunately, the whole world remains “deeply concerned” – and at a loss.