Eritrea on Thursday dismissed Ethiopia’s accusation that it is preparing for war, calling the allegation “provocative sabre-rattling” amid growing tension between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.

Relations between the countries have been strained for months, more than three decades after Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia following a long and bloody struggle.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, accusing Asmara of colluding with a hardline faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to “wage war.”

According to the letter, signed by Ethiopia’s foreign minister, Eritrea and the TPLF faction have been “funding, mobilising, and directing armed groups” in the Amhara region, where federal forces have been battling rebels for years.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel rejected the accusation, saying it was part of a “deceitful charade.”

“The intense propaganda campaign aimed at whipping up irredentist ambitions has been accompanied by provocative sabre-rattling,” Ghebremeskel told AFP.

In a separate letter dated Wednesday, the TPLF denied Ethiopia’s claims as “entirely unfounded,” warning that Addis Ababa appeared to be “building a case for yet another war in the region based on unfounded allegations.”

The group described Ethiopia’s letter to the UN as “a dangerous inversion of reality,” saying it attempted to “portray the aggressor as the victim and the victims as the aggressor.” The TPLF called for mediation by the African Union and the international community to prevent renewed conflict.

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a brutal border war from 1998 to 2000, leaving tens of thousands dead. Relations improved briefly in 2018 after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace deal — a move that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.

However, ties soured again after Eritrean troops supported Ethiopian federal forces during the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, which the African Union estimates killed about 600,000 people.

Since then, Asmara has accused Addis Ababa of coveting access to the Assab port on the Red Sea, while Abiy has openly spoken about Ethiopia’s need to regain sea access lost after Eritrea’s independence in 1993.

Ghebremeskel accused Ethiopia of plotting to undermine Eritrea’s “hard-won independence and sovereignty” through its push for access to the Red Sea.

“For the last two years, the regime’s policy mantra has revolved on acquiring sovereign access to the sea through legal means if possible, or military force if necessary,” he said.

In June, a U.S.-based monitoring group accused Eritrea of rebuilding its military and destabilising neighbouring countries. Eritrea dismissed the report, blaming Ethiopia for “the new tension in the region.”