By announcing a trade-off on New Year's Day – putative recognition of Somaliland's 'independence' in exchange for access to the Gulf of Aden – Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Somaliland counterpart Muse Bihi Abdi have united the region against them ramping up tensions at a highly volatile time...

Abiy Ahmed was calculating that access to the sea would allow him to save money (AC Vol 64 No 16 Abiy ploughs on as economy staggers)...

What about the corridor to the Ethiopian border mentioned by Abiy Ahmed and his National Security Affairs Advisor Redwan Hussein...

After trying to maintain good relations with Muse Bihi Abdi and Abiy Ahmed it seems that Hassan Sheikh felt stabbed in the back...

It's yet to speak publicly on the deal but it has strongly supported Abiy Ahmed in other areas; helping with weapons when the federal forces were losing ground in the war against Tigray...

The rebels' demands had proved too much for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's negotiators...

One complication in Abiy's calculations is the conflict in Amhara Ethiopia's second-most populous region which is even further away from resolution (AC Vol 64 No 17 The avalanche catches up with Abiy Ahmed)...

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's announcement on New Year's Day that his country would be granted access to the Red Sea by the breakaway republic of Somaliland illustrates his penchant for high-stake gambles and his willingness to make enemies (AC Vol 64 No 23 Abiy spells out expansionist plans)...

Many across the political spectrum fear that Abiy's policies are encouraging ethnic tensions largely between Amhara and Oromo and threaten the viability of the central state (AC Vol 64 No 17 The avalanche catches up with Abiy Ahmed)...

It also reflects the mood after the multiple meetings attended by Burhan in November with regional leaders some of whom he was at loggerheads with: Kenya's William Ruto (14 November); Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed (on 15 November); Djibouti's Ismaïl Omar Guelleh and Eritrea's Issayas Aferwerki (26 November)...

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed whose popularity has plummeted at home and abroad due to the war in Tigray the chaos in Oromia and now conflict in Amhara appears to have a new plan to pull the country behind him – by securing direct access to the Red Sea...

As violence surged across Amhara some former allies of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed such as Gedu Andargachew a former Amhara president and federal foreign minister chastised Abiy and his government for having not 'learned from the mistakes of the past five years' by always resorting to military means (AC Vol 63 No 6 Rivals set out their minimum conditions)...

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed shocked allies and enemies alike when he announced on 13 October that access to the Red Sea was an 'existential' issue for his landlocked country and Ethiopians needed to discuss it urgently...

Mercury has also been hired as lobbyists for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government (AC Vol 64 No 17 Abiy looks west)...