Ethiopian troops enter Adigrat amid dispute with Eritrea

Ethiopian government soldiers and allied militia entered Adigrat on October 10, three residents told Reuters. AP footage also showed military vehicles and soldiers entering the city.

One Reuters witness described patrols and military vehicles on Saturday morning. The agency could not establish whether the army controlled the entire city. Ethiopia's military did not answer a request for comment and city officials could not be reached.

The movement comes amid competing accusations between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a letter to UN Security Council members, Ethiopia said Eritrean soldiers had advanced into Tigray and invoked self-defence. Eritrea denies an incursion and says the allegations are an attempt to justify an attack on it.

Conflict monitor ACLED reported Ethiopian drone strikes against Eritrean forces and their withdrawal from positions near Adigrat. Reuters did not independently verify the reported incursion. A resident described explosions outside the city overnight into Friday morning.

Ethiopia also accuses Eritrea of supporting a rebel alliance fighting government forces in Tigray, Amhara and Afar since September 23. Eritrea rejects that allegation too.

A dispute over access to the sea has further strained relations. Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent in 1993 and says it wants to restore access peacefully. Following the 2018 peace agreement, Eritrea backed Ethiopia's federal government in the 2020–2022 Tigray war, but relations deteriorated again toward the conflict's end.