Eritrea has formally petitioned the United Nations Security Council to intervene in its rapidly deteriorating standoff with Ethiopia, saying that Addis Ababa's recent accusations of an invasion constitute a declaration of war. In a letter sent to the council on Saturday, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh requested - deterrent measures of the UN Charter to stop what he characterized as a manufactured pretext for an Ethiopian war of aggression. This diplomatic crisis follows an Ethiopian complaint to the UN claiming Eritrean troops had launched an "all-out invasion" 60 kilometers deep into the northern Tigray region. It marks a near-total breakdown in relations after a month of severed diplomatic ties, expelled diplomats, and intensifying border hostilities tied to Ethiopia's geopolitical ambitions for Red Sea access.
We spoke to Prof Bheki Mngomezulu, Professor of Political Science and  International Relations and Director of CANRAD Centre at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa