Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of troop incursion into Tigray

Addis Ababa says Eritrean forces advanced as far as 60 km into Tigray. Eritrea rejects the accusation. The Associated Press reported claims that Eritrean troops entered border towns but said it could not independently verify them.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea of invading the country’s northern areas and demanded that its troops withdraw. In a letter circulated on October 9, he said Eritrean forces had entered Tigray and advanced as far as 60 kilometres. That claim is the Ethiopian government’s account.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel rejected the accusation and said Ethiopia was using it as a pretext for military action. He said tensions were also tied to Ethiopian leaders’ statements about gaining access to the Red Sea and the port of Assab.

The Associated Press reported that a commander allied with Ethiopia’s government said Eritrean troops had entered Adigrat and Idaga Hamus. The monitoring group ACLED also reported a border crossing. AP said it could not independently verify the accounts. Eritrea has not confirmed that its troops were present.

The tensions come amid renewed fighting in Tigray between federal forces and opposition groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Ethiopia previously closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave. Eritrea then announced it was severing diplomatic ties.

The two countries fought a border war in 1998–2000. Eritrea backed Ethiopia’s federal forces during the 2020–2022 war against the TPLF, but relations deteriorated again after the ceasefire. Further tension stems from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s calls for landlocked Ethiopia to gain access to the sea, which Eritrea views as a threat to its sovereignty.