Four African leaders issue joint declaration as Ethiopia war escalates

In the shadow of the Red Sea’s bustling ports, four regional heads converged in New Alamein City on Sunday, their cameras capturing a rare group portrait of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan. The summit, hosted on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, produced a joint declaration that called for "a dialogue, not confrontation" and urged political, peaceful solutions to the cascading conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia.

The document does more than echo generic peace‑talk rhetoric. It backs Sudan’s military‑led administration, reiterates that Red Sea control should stay with the coastal states, and pushes back against Ethiopia’s attempts to secure sovereign sea access through Somali ports—an ambition that, if realized, would reshape trade routes for the landlocked nation. Somalia’s president, speaking to Al Jazeera the day before, said Mogadishu would not object to Ethiopia using its ports, provided the arrangement is mutually agreed.

Ethiopia’s internal war provides the immediate backdrop. Federal forces have just retaken Mekelle after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front temporarily withdrew, while Addis Ababa accuses Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of bolstering the seven‑group armed alliance that now challenges the central government.

Beyond words, the summit hints at a deeper security alignment. Sources cited by The National News report that the leaders may announce “wider military co‑operation” to safeguard the region and protect Red Sea shipping. If such ties solidify, the bloc could act as a counterweight to Ethiopia’s growing military assertiveness and to the influence of external powers that have been courting Addis.

The declaration’s impact remains uncertain. Whether the joint statement will translate into concrete diplomatic initiatives, or merely serve as a diplomatic shield for the four governments, will depend on how quickly Addis can consolidate its hold on Tigray and whether Sudan’s internal war stabilises enough to allow it to engage regionally. For now, the summit marks the most visible attempt by Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan to present a united front against what they perceive as Ethiopia’s destabilising moves.