Eritrea on Thursday accused its historic rival Ethiopia of waging an "intense campaign" of derogatory statements against it, in the latest sign of rising tensions in the Horn of Africa.
Fierce foes since Eritrea's independence in 1993, the two countries signed a peace deal in 2018, but tensions have since mounted again.
In a long message posted on X, Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel accused Ethiopia of "waging an intense and unacceptable campaign against Eritrea" and of committing "malicious provocations".
He cited Ethiopia's efforts to set up a port by the Red Sea, through a deal signed last year with the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland.
The resulting diplomatic row with Somalia was settled under an agreement mediated by Turkey, but the outcome of the Somaliland deal remains uncertain.
Ethiopia's plans "continue to be part of regional tensions, creating unnecessary chaos and crisis", Gebremeskel said.
Ethiopian authorities did not respond to a request to comment.
Ethiopia's former president Mulatu Teshome branded Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki a "pyromaniac" in an opinion article published online by broadcaster Al Jazeera on Monday.
He accused Eritrea of "working to reignite conflict in northern Ethiopia".
UK-based non-government group Human Rights Concern Eritrea said in an online report on Tuesday that Eritrea had ordered a "nationwide military mobilisation".
It said the government had issued a directive conscripting "citizens under the age of 60 for military re-training and practice".
AFP was not able to independently verify that report with sources in Eritrea, whose authoritarian government tightly controls access to information.
Following the 2018 detente, Eritrea backed Ethiopia in its war against separatists in the Tigray region from 2020 to 2022.
The UN and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, accused the Eritrean army of committing war crimes in Tigray.
Eritrea rejected the claims as "disinformation".
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