Eritrea Rejoins East Africa Bloc After 16 Years

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Facts

  • On Monday, Eritrea rejoined the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD), after exiting the bloc in 2007 to protest the deployment of Ethiopian troops to Somalia to combat al-Shabab militants.1
  • Announcing the news on Twitter, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said the country — which took its seat at the 14th Ordinary Summit in Djibouti — wanted to join IGAD members in promoting peace and stability in the region.2
  • After gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea fought a border war with its neighbor from 1998 to 2000. Ruled by Pres. Isaias Afwerki since its inception, Eritrea has been under US and EU sanctions for alleged human rights violations.2
  • Eritrea left the IGAD in 2007 following multiple disagreements, including over the bloc's decision to ask Kenya to resolve a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.3
  • However, following the signing of a peace deal in 2018 with Ethiopia after nearly a decade of animosity, the two countries endeavored "to forge intimate political, economic, social, cultural as well as defense and security cooperation."4
  • Monday's announcement comes after Afwerki, during a trip to Kenya in February, said that his country would rejoin the nine-nation IGAD "with the idea of revitalizing this regional organization."5

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Reuters, 3The East African, 4Africa News, and 5VOA.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by RFI. Eritrea is one of the world's most repressive states on almost every front, and IGAD should not legitimize the brutal Afwerki regime. Additionally, the country has been accused of severe human rights violations in the Tigray conflict, where it joined the side of Ethiopia. Even after the close of hostilities, it's still believed that Eritrean forces are committing atrocities in the region. IGAD should be putting pressure on Afwerki, not welcoming him with open arms.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Eritrea Ministry Of Information. The US, in order to prop up Tigrayan rebels, has painted Eritrea as a despotic regime instead of one forced into a war of self-defense. This isolation of a country that stands up to Western hegemony did not fool the East African nations, as they welcomed back Eritrea with open arms to IGAD. These ineffective and misguided attacks on a sovereign nation have brought this display of regional solidarity to fruition.

Predictions