Ethiopia alleges: Eritrea has deployed troops in Tigray

NAIROBI – Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are rising once again, heightening fears that the crisis raging in Tigray between anti-Abiy Ahmed militias and the Ethiopian government could spread across the region. Speaking to Bloomberg, the Ethiopian government’s Minister for Communications, Enatalem Melese, accused ‘Eritrean forces’ of operating in Tigray and urged them to ‘withdraw without delay’ from the region.

The agencies Reuters and AFP have reported the presence of Eritrean military personnel in the region, citing local accounts of troops and vehicles moving through the area. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel has denied that national forces are advancing into Tigray and attributes the reports to an Ethiopian plot aimed at achieving one of its long-standing objectives: gaining access to the Red Sea, with an advance aimed at capturing the port of Assab. Abiy has also recently reaffirmed Addis Ababa’s ‘commitment’ to securing a coastal outlet, a struggle perceived by Asmara as a threat to its territorial integrity and the independence formalised in 1993. When contacted by *Il Sole 24 Ore*, Yemane referred to the statement published on X that afternoon: ‘In recent weeks,’ he wrote, ‘Ethiopia has sought to repackage this war agenda in terms of “self-defence”, fabricating various accusations against Eritrea.’

Our newspaper has not been able to independently verify the presence of Eritrean troops, but some sources describe it as likely and concentrated in Adigrat: a town a few dozen kilometres from the Eritrean border, along the road to the Tigrayan regional capital, Mekelle. The Tigray Peace Force, a militia allied with the Ethiopian government, claimed in a Facebook post that it had inflicted ‘heavy losses’ on forces linked to Asmara.

This exchange of barbs marks the culmination of a military and diplomatic escalation that has sent bilateral relations plummeting to their lowest point since the 2018 reconciliation, heightening the risks of a spiral of violence in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, has once again come under pressure following the outbreak of hostilities several weeks ago in the northern region of Tigray: the same region that was ravaged by the 2020–2022 conflict between local troops and Abiy’s government, which resulted in a death toll of up to 600,000. On 21 September, the Tigrayans, together with six other regional armed groups, announced the formation of a military bloc against Abiy. On 23 September, the airport in Mekelle was seized, triggering an escalation with nationwide ramifications. Pro-Abiy forces announced their return to Mekelle, but tensions remain high and are deepening the rift between Addis Ababa and Asmara. Eritrea had supported Ethiopian troops in the war against the Tigrayans and viewed its exclusion from the peace agreements signed in Pretoria in 2022 as a major setback. These grievances have resurfaced in the wake of the latest Tigrayan crisis and the exchange of mutual accusations, starting with allegations of collusion between Eritrea and anti-Abiy forces.

Earlier this month, Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa closed its embassy in Asmara and declared around ten Eritrean diplomats persona non grata – the same treatment meted out to the Egyptian official: a country hostile to the Ethiopian government over the massive Renaissance Dam project on the Blue Nile. The row escalated on Monday, when Abiy once again insisted on access to the Red Sea. The ‘real objective’ feared by Eritrea. ‘On the basis of the principle of give and take,’ said Abiy, ‘we will work diligently to ensure that Ethiopia has access to the sea.’