OMM Redaksiyası
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of an “all-out invasion” of its northern Tigray region and said it will defend itself, days after residents told the BBC that Eritrean troops had crossed the border.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos described the reported incursion as a “blatant act of aggression” that gave Ethiopia an inherent right to self-defence. Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, said his country was facing an “unprovoked war of aggression” from Ethiopia, according to the BBC.
Timothewos said Eritrean forces had advanced as far as 60km (37 miles) into Tigray. Ethiopia is also accused of carrying out strikes against Eritrean troops in the region.
A US-based conflict monitor, Acled, said Eritrean troops and ammunition in the town of Adigrat were hit by multiple drone strikes overnight. Residents told AFP that there had been numerous strikes and that some Eritrean lorries were destroyed. One witness said Eritrean forces appeared to be retreating north afterwards.
The letter to the Security Council, dated 8 October, said Ethiopia had “no other option but to defend itself” and called for understanding and support.
Fighting broke out two weeks ago between Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls Tigray. Both sides accuse the other of violating the 2022 agreement that ended the civil war. Ethiopia says Eritrea is backing the TPLF, a claim Asmara denies.
Eritrea, in turn, has accused Ethiopia’s leaders of seeking a pretext to seize its territory. On Friday, Gebremeskel called the accusations against Asmara “duplicity in their most extreme forms”. In a post on X, he alleged that Ethiopia was seeking regime change in Eritrea by sheltering and supporting people claiming to be opposition figures.
Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia’s government against the TPLF during the two-year civil war. Relations between the neighbours have since deteriorated, largely over Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ambition to gain ownership of an Eritrean Red Sea port. Diplomatic ties were severed last week.
Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993, and relations between the countries were normalised in 2018, when Abiy came to power. The latest unrest follows months of tensions and the formation in September of a new alliance of armed groups in Ethiopia, including the TPLF.
Last week, TPLF forces withdrew from Mekelle, Tigray’s main city, which is 115km (71 miles) south of Adigrat and is now under army control.
