Ethiopia’s prime minister has warned that anyone planning to invade Ethiopia should “think ten times” before acting, as he said any attack would be repelled.
Abiy Ahmed did not target any specific country in his comments, but they came amid heightened tensions with neighbors Somalia and Egypt.
Somalia describes the maritime agreement signed by Abiy’s government in January with the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland as an act of “aggression” and has responded by forging closer military ties with Egypt.
Somaliland broke away from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but Mogadishu considers it part of its territory.
Egypt and Ethiopia are locked in a long-running dispute over Addis Ababa’s decision to build a massive dam on a tributary of the Nile River.
It reportedly plans to send troops to Somalia after the two governments signed a military agreement last month.
In a televised speech to mark Ethiopia’s Sovereignty Day, Abiy said the East African country had no intention of creating conflict.
However, he said, “people near and far” should know that “we usually humiliate and repel those who dare to invade us”.
“Anyone thinking of invading Ethiopia should think twice before doing so, because one of the great things we Ethiopians know is [how] To defend ourselves,” Mr Abiy added.
Landlocked Ethiopia’s decision to strike a deal with Somaliland to allow it access to ports has angered Somalia.
Somaliland has also said it could lease part of its coast to the Ethiopian navy in exchange for Abiy’s government becoming the first to recognize Somalia as an independent country.
Tensions in the region escalated last month after two Egyptian C-130 military aircraft arrived in the Somali capital to mark the strengthening of ties between the two countries.
Egypt reportedly plans to send up to 5,000 troops to join the new African Union (AU) force in Somalia by the end of the year, with another 5,000 troops to be deployed separately.
An AU force has been in Somalia since 2007, helping the government fight the jihadist group al-Shabab, which has waged a brutal insurgency in the country.
Ethiopian troops are part of this force, but Somalia has announced that it must withdraw its troops next year.
Egypt accuses Ethiopia of threatening the water supply of the Nile River by building the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) in the northern Ethiopian highlands, where 85% of the Nile water comes from.
Gerd is Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam project and Ethiopia considers it crucial to meeting its energy needs.