Ethiopia: ENDF Says Denying Red Sea and Assab Port Claim Amounts to 'Banditry'

© RFI/Noé Hochet-Bodin
The primary school in Erebti, Ethiopia, was bombed and destroyed during clashes between the TPLF and local militia in 2022.
29 September 2025
Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)

Addis Abeba — The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) said that any attempt to deny Ethiopia's claim over the Red Sea and the Port of Assab "cannot have a water-tight rationale other than banditry."

In a statement released on its official Facebook page on Saturday, 27 September 2025, the army described the Red Sea and Assab Port issue as "the pain of our Ethiopia for over three decades," which, it said, has "diminished the honor of [Ethiopia's] nationhood and obstructed its geopolitical national interest."

The ENDF further stated that the official raising of the Red Sea question at the international level "has filled Ethiopian soldiers, who would not hesitate for a second to pay any sacrifice for the realization of our Ethiopia's national interest, with immense joy."

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The statement compared the Red Sea issue to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), saying that just as the dam was realized "through the sacrifice of our generation," soldiers believe there is "no reason why the Red Sea issue should not also be realized."

While emphasizing that soldiers "are not politicians," the ENDF added that their commitment is nonetheless informed by awareness:

"When we willingly and voluntarily dedicate ourselves for the realization of our Ethiopia's national interest, there should be no doubt that we do so with full awareness."

The army concluded by asserting that "any attempt to claim the question of the Red Sea, and by extension the Port of Assab, is incorrect under any lens" and amounts to "banditry."

The statement comes amid heightened tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea regarding Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea and its claim over the Port of Assab.

Ethiopian officials have repeatedly underscored the country's need for seaport access. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, during the launch of his fourth book Medemer Mengist (The Government of Synergy), said: "Any Ethiopian who thinks Ethiopia will forever remain a prisoner of geography is a dead person." He added that Ethiopia would "prioritize peace, fight poverty, and create its exit and entry gate," while calling for negotiations with neighboring states.

At the United Nations General Assembly earlier this month, President Taye Atske Selassie referred to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean as the "common heritage of humanity," emphasizing Ethiopia's commitment to an "all-inclusive approach" that ensures equitable access, development, and security for all littoral states.

Senior defense officials have also previously stressed Ethiopia's historic and strategic claim to Red Sea access. Major General Teshome Gemechu, Director General of Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation at the Ministry of Defense, described sea access--particularly through Assab Port--as a "historical right and a matter of survival."

"We are not asking for sea access just out of the blue," he said, citing Ethiopia's historical ties to Assab, international legal principles concerning geographical proximity, the question of survival, and security threats.

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