Altered map falsely shows Eritrea's Assab port as being part of Ethiopia
The post, published in English on Facebook on March 13, 2025, reads: 'Assab, Afar Ethiopia', followed by an emoji with the Ethiopian flag.
Afar is an ethnic group found in the Horn of Africa, mainly in Ethiopia but also in Eritrea and Djibouti.
'Assab is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Ethiopia,' the post adds. 'It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly Afar, and Arabic.'
The post is accompanied by a map of the Horn of Africa in which Ethiopia's borders appear to extend to the coast of the Red Sea, which is not the case in reality.
Similar posts were shared here and here on Facebook.
Tensions are rising in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa after landlocked Ethiopia recently made a strong plea to regain access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia had access to the Red Sea via Assab before Eritrea became independent in 1993 and took over control of the port (archived here).
However, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy told parliament on March 20, 2025, that his country would not invade neighbouring Eritrea to gain access to the sea (archived here).
AFP Fact Check found that the map allegedly showing the port of Assab as part of Ethiopia has been redrawn.
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and tracked down the original map (archived here). It was published in 2000 by Mapsland, a website that shares collections of maps from across the globe (archived here).
The original map is captioned in English and reads: 'Ethiopia large detailed political map with roads, railroads and major cities - 2000.'
But, in this original map, Ethiopia does not border the Red Sea, and the port of Assab is located in Eritrea.
These are the same borders as can be seen on current maps, including Google Maps.
In the altered version of the map, Ethiopia's borders have been moved to reach the sea and therefore encompass Assab. The map has been redrawn to support the false claim that 'Asab is in the southern Red Sea region of Ethiopia'.
The following image presents a comparison of the original and modified maps.
Meanwhile, the text in the post describing the location of Assab appears to have been lifted directly from the Wikipedia entry for the port, with one major change: the post has replaced the word 'Eritrea' with 'Ethiopia'.
AFP Fact Check has previously debunked claims related to Ethiopia controlling the port of Assab here.
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Los Angeles Times
16 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
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Politico
28 minutes ago
- Politico
IRA incentive boosters take to the airwaves
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Mayor of Monroe blames social media post for low attendance at Latin Festival
Low attendance at a Latin Fest in Monroe is causing controversy among residents and city leaders. 'I'm having a good time, but I miss my Spanish people,' one attendee said Sunday. 'I don't know what's going on, but this world needs to be in peace so everyone can reunite and be together.' ALSO READ: Group says increase of ICE arrests in Charlotte is leading to more calls for help Both the festivalgoer and Monroe's mayor, Robert Burns, noticed the lack of Hispanic people at the festival, but Burns blamed a social media post made on Facebook for the low turnout. The post said Monroe is not a safe place for immigrants, adding that attending the Latin Fest could place you and others in potential danger. 'I would challenge those individuals who post that type of stuff,' Burns said. 'You genuinely don't care about the Hispanic community, because that affected the businesses of our city. Regardless of what nationality they are, they are businesses and individuals who pour into this city.' The originators of the post, Monroe Immigrants, responded to the mayor in a statement to our partners at Telemundo. 'The City of Monroe needs to make capital from its Hispanic constituents; that's all they care about,' they said. 'The City of Monroe doesn't not care about anything except increasing the profits of capital.' In response, Burns said he was upset by the low turnout at the festival. 'We care about families, we care about the economy, low taxes, education,' he said. 'Not only was I surprised, I was hurt because the Hispanic community has had such an incredible effect on our city.' In May, Monroe City Council approved a statement about public safety and immigration enforcement, stating 'Monroe is not a sanctuary city.' City council passed an additional statement on Tuesday that removed that sentence and says Monroe Police do not enforce federal immigration law. Mayor Burns voted against last night's version. VIDEO: Bakery owner says ICE sparks fear in neighborhood, hurts local businesses
