In a statement released on Friday, Eritrea’s Ministry of Information announced that the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is “demarcated for the last time in a way that will never be changed.”

The statement said that the border between the two countries is based on the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission Decision. it is a “property recognized and legally confirmed boundary,” it said.

“Unless there exist violations of law between Eritrea and Ethiopian peoples or Eritrea and Tigray peoples, there is no other issue that could cause conflict,” the statement added.  It is unusual for the Eritrean government to make a distinction between the Ethiopian People and Tigray People, and it is unclear why that is the case now.

Furthermore, Eritrea said, as reported by Wazema Radio, that Ethiopian People drew lessons from the border war between the two countries which caused extensive destruction.  The two-year border war that was fought about two decades ago is said to have claimed more than 80,000 lives from both sides.

Ethiopia and Eritrea did have a no-peace-no-war relationship for two decades after the war. It came to an end when Abiy Ahmed pursued what appeared then as a new policy of making Eritrea a friend. The relationship between the two countries is not as good as it appeared in 2018 after Abiy Ahmed’s government made claims about access to the Red Sea in what many interpreted to be a political strategy to deflect increasing opposition to his administration at home.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia (MFAE) has not yet remarked on Eritrea’s announcement. Recently, there have been accusations against Eritrea that it “incorporated” part of Irob community as part of Eritrea dividing the small community into two.