OMM Newsroom
Fighting between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces has intensified near the disputed border town of Badme, where drone strikes and heavy artillery bombardments have reportedly driven civilians from their homes. Anadolu Agency reported the account, citing diplomatic sources quoted by local outlet Addis Standard on Saturday.
Two diplomats familiar with intelligence assessments told the Ethiopian outlet that clashes had escalated over several days. Ethiopian forces reportedly deployed drones, while Eritrean troops used heavy artillery.
“We are aware of drone strikes, particularly from the Ethiopian side, and the use of heavy artillery from the Eritrean side, and we are monitoring the situation,” one diplomatic source said.
A second source warned that the exchanges could lead to a major military confrontation between the neighboring countries.
“The biggest shared concern among the international community is that this will be sliding into a full-blown military conflict, the outcome of which neither party has yet to fully comprehend,” the source said.
Badme is about 800 kilometers (497 miles) north of Addis Ababa and 130 kilometers (81 miles) southwest of Asmara. The town was at the center of the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea border war, which killed tens of thousands of people.
Residents reported nighttime explosions, closed businesses and families leaving their homes as Ethiopian federal troops increased their presence around the town.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reported on Nov. 13 that Ethiopian federal troops were positioned between Sheraro and Badme, while Eritrean forces were stationed near the town’s perimeter. Neither side controlled Badme, the project said.
ACLED also documented Ethiopian artillery fire toward areas near Badme and renewed clashes between federal troops and Tigrayan fighters.
The Critical Threats Project (CTP), another conflict monitor, said in a Nov. 10 assessment that military buildups and clashes had taken place near Badme, but that it could not determine which side of the border the fighting occurred on.
The escalation follows Ethiopian military advances toward the border, including the capture of Sheraro on Nov. 3, according to conflict monitors.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated sharply amid accusations that each supports armed groups and disagreements over Ethiopia’s ambitions to gain access to the Red Sea.
After a meeting in Paris on Nov. 9-10, G7 foreign ministers expressed “great concern” over the worsening security situation and urged both countries to “exercise maximum restraint, pursue diplomatic solutions.”
The renewed confrontation threatens to deepen instability in the Horn of Africa, where fighting in northern Ethiopia has already displaced civilians and disrupted humanitarian assistance.
