Ethiopia and Eritrea Trade Accusations as Fighting Intensifies in Tigray

Ethiopia and Eritrea have traded accusations of military aggression as fighting continues in northern Ethiopia, with Addis Ababa demanding the withdrawal of Eritrean troops and Asmara rejecting the allegations.

In a message to the United Nations Security Council, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of carrying out an “all-out invasion” of parts of northern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos said Eritrean troops had advanced as far as 60 kilometres into northern Tigray and called for their withdrawal.

“The all-out invasion of parts of northern Ethiopia by Eritrea is a matter of public record,” Gedion said in a letter also addressed to France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. He described the alleged action as “a blatant act of aggression” that engaged Ethiopia’s right to self-defence.

Eritrea rejects allegations

Eritrea’s Minister of Information, Yemane Gebremeskel, rejected Ethiopia’s claims and denied that his country was supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF.

In a statement posted on X, Yemane accused Ethiopia of pursuing what he called an unprovoked war of aggression against Eritrea for more than three years. He also said Ethiopia’s earlier statements about obtaining access to the sea amounted to an effective declaration of war.

Yemane further alleged that Ethiopia was using the current conflict to seize Assab, an Eritrean port on the Red Sea, and restore access to the coast. Those claims were presented by Eritrea and have not been independently established in the reported accounts.

Fighting and reported troop movements

The accusations followed a week of military developments in Tigray. Ethiopia’s army pushed back the TPLF and seized Mekelle, the regional capital, according to the report. Witnesses who spoke to Agence France-Presse said the TPLF had also lost control of Shire and Adigrat.

Several witnesses reportedly saw Eritrean troops in Adigrat before Ethiopian drone strikes hit them. The accounts were based on witness testimony and were not independently confirmed in the report.

Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of backing the TPLF, which is described as part of an alliance of seven armed groups seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Eritrea has denied the allegation.

Diplomatic relations severed

The military accusations have been accompanied by a sharp diplomatic breakdown. Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country. Eritrea subsequently announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.

The latest confrontation comes against a history of strained relations. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and the two countries fought a border war that began in 1998 and lasted two years. Relations improved somewhat after Abiy became prime minister in 2018.

Eritrea later fought alongside Ethiopia against the TPLF during Ethiopia’s civil war from 2020 to 2022. Eritrea was not part of the peace agreement that ended the conflict, and relations deteriorated afterward.

Ethiopia lost direct access to the coast when Eritrea became independent. Its repeated claims of a right to sea access have been viewed by Eritrea as a threat to take Assab. The renewed tensions are unfolding amid wider conflicts in the Horn of Africa and instability across the Red Sea.