Theme: Eritrea

Ethiopia has installed a new administration in conflict-hit Tigray after federal forces pushed back Tigrayan fighters, but tensions with Eritrea continue to raise fears of a wider regional war, according to DW.

A peace deal signed in November 2022 ended two years of brutal fighting in the Ethiopian state of Tigray, but disputes over political power, territory and the disarmament of armed groups remain unresolved, according to The Hindu. With Addis Ababa and Asmara now on opposing sides again, conflicts raging elsewhere in the region and tensions high across the Red Sea, there are fears of broader contagion, according to Reuters.

Ethiopia accused Eritrea of an “all-out invasion” of its northern Tigray region and warned it will defend itself, according to the BBC. In a letter to the UN Security Council, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos called the troop entry a “blatant act of aggression” and said Eritrean forces had advanced up to 60km into Tigray; Eritrea responded that it faces an “unprovoked war of aggression” from its neighbour. For The New York Times, the two countries, once allies, are edging toward war.

Ethiopia accused neighbouring Eritrea of an “all-out invasion” of Tigray and warned that it will defend itself, according to a letter to the Security Council cited by UN News. Eritrea rejected the claim, with its information minister saying the country faces an “unprovoked war of aggression”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he is deeply worried by reports that Eritrean forces are present in northern Ethiopia.

The UN secretary-general urged an immediate halt to the hostilities in Tigray, Afar and Amhara and a return to dialogue under the Pretoria Agreement framework, in a statement issued on Friday night in New York by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, according to UN News. Also according to UN News, media reports say Ethiopia accused neighbouring Eritrea of an all-out invasion of Tigray and warned that it will defend itself.

Drones attributed to Ethiopian government forces struck Eritrean troops, vehicles and ammunition near the northern Ethiopian town of Adigrat between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to The Media Line, in a text published by the Jerusalem Post. In an October 8 letter to the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea of invading Ethiopian territory and demanded that its troops withdraw. Eritrea on Saturday asked the council to condemn Ethiopia’s “declaration of war”, warning it could destabilise the region, according to AFP, in a text published by LBC.

A foreign security source estimated that 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers are present in Tigray, according to AFP, cited by DW, which says various sources have confirmed the presence of Eritrean armed forces in Ethiopia. Ethiopia wrote to the UN Security Council calling for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops from its territory, saying it had no option but to defend itself, according to Reuters, cited by DW.

Ethiopia and Eritrea each accused the other of starting a war of aggression on Friday, as an internal Ethiopian conflict threatened to escalate into a regional war, according to France 24, in a text with AFP. A foreign security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP they estimated 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers were present in Tigray. Witnesses told AFP that the rebels had lost two other cities in the region, Shire and Adigrat.

Ethiopia told the UN Security Council that Eritrean forces, including mechanized units, advanced up to 37 miles (about 60 kilometres) into its northern territory, according to Africa Today News New York. The letter says the presence of the troops engages Ethiopia's inherent right to self-defense, and it describes the incursion as an “all-out invasion”. Residents of Adigrat told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into northern Ethiopia heading towards an area of clashes in Tigray.

Ethiopian drones struck units of the Eritrean Army in the city of Adigrat, in Tigray, in the early hours of October 8, according to the Russian agency TASS. A local resident said several Eritrean military trucks were destroyed.

Ethiopian federal forces entered Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, after rebels withdrew from the city, in fighting that effectively ended the 2022 Pretoria ceasefire, with reports of Eritrean troops in northern Tigray, after Ethiopia closed its embassy in Eritrea and expelled diplomats on October 1, accusing Asmara of hostile acts and involvement in the fighting, according to Al Jazeera.

Eritrean troops have entered Ethiopia, raising fears of a direct confrontation with Addis Ababa, according to Le Monde. In recent days, the troops have deployed around a town in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a local official and residents said, after two weeks of internal conflict threatening a wider regional war, according to AFP, in a report published by Modern Ghana.

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan called for political and peaceful solutions amid escalating conflicts across the region, according to Al Jazeera, in a joint declaration on Sunday following a meeting in New Alamein City in Egypt; the declaration also said control of the Red Sea should remain with the coastal states.

Eritrea severed all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia in retaliation, saying it had no option but to reciprocate in kind. The move came after Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata. The break comes as renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia raises fears of a wider regional conflict, according to the BBC.

Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and gave 10 Eritrean diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, according to ChimpReports. On Thursday, Eritrea said it was breaking diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, in response to the earlier expulsion of its diplomats from Addis Ababa, according to AFP, in a text published by Ahram Online. Eritrea's foreign ministry said it had no option but to reciprocate and sever all diplomatic ties: “Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails,” the ministry said in a statement on X.

Ethiopia’s army chief accused Egypt and Sudan of supporting a new alliance of armed groups trying to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, according to Euronews. Marshal Birhanu Jula said that neither Eritrea nor the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) could achieve anything alone without external support, according to France 24. The accusation comes as fighting has resumed in northern Ethiopia, according to Euronews.