Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in on Monday for another five-year term, and used his speech to parliament in Addis Ababa to insist that the landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea. He said Ethiopia would seek a port through negotiation on a give-and-take basis, calling sea access critical to the country’s civilisation.

Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea became independent in 1993. The demand came as federal forces are fighting Tigray fighters in northern Ethiopia, with combat spreading into the Afar region near the Djibouti trade corridor. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of supporting the Tigray fighters. Fighting since September 23 is the worst escalation since the 2020-2022 civil war.

Airstrikes killed at least nine people in Adwa and eight in Sheraro, according to humanitarian bulletins. Abiy took the oath after his Prosperity Party’s landslide victory in June’s parliamentary elections. In an interview, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Somalia did not object to Ethiopia gaining access through Somali territory but that the two countries must negotiate.