Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is allegedly attempting to destabilize the Horn of Africa by inciting tensions and conflicts, particularly by fostering hostility between Semitic- and Cushitic-speaking communities, according to Ambassador Dina Mufti, a former spokesperson for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, now serving as a member of the Foreign Affairs Standing Committee in the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives.

Ambassador Dina Mufti, a member of the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives, warned, “He should not be allowed to continue in his effort to destabilize Ethiopia and the broader Horn of Africa.”

Writing on the Horn Review website, Ambassador Dina claimed that “Isaias Afwerki’s current project is focused on bringing together ethnic militias from the Tigray and Amhara region, under a coalition that he leads to overturn the federal government in Ethiopia, which he claims is subservient to external forces.”

Ambassador Dina further accused President Isaias Afwerki of attempting to fuel animosity against the Oromo community in Ethiopia, by invoking “Oromummaa,” a concept he allegedly does not fully understand.

“Condemning the president’s interference as ‘not limited to words,’ Ambassador Dina stated that he was ‘providing material support to forces that are fighting against the Ethiopian government with weapons’ and warned that ‘it will have disastrous consequences.’

‘He should be pressured to withdraw his troops from sovereign Ethiopian territory and stop his support for armed groups and rebels in Ethiopia,’ he wrote in his article published on the Horn Review website.”

Meanwhile, in a speech marking Eritrea’s 34th Independence Day on May 24, 2025, President Isaias Afwerki criticized the Ethiopian government, stating, “The Ethiopian government is buying weapons to continue the war.”

He further elaborated, saying, “The rush to acquire weapons and technologies to launch these planned wars, the associated bargaining, and military preparations are known and documented by everyone.”

President Afwerki also outlined what he believes to be Ethiopia’s motivations for conflict, stating, “There are many reasons they want to present,” and citing “the water issue, the Nile and the Red Sea, access to the seaport, the Oromummaa ideology that does not represent the Oromo people, the Kush and Sem conflict, the use of the Afar people and land for this agenda, and the widespread incitement to war.”