Ethiopia Accuses Eritrea of Deploying Troops in Tigray, Calls for Immediate Withdrawal
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has demanded the immediate departure of Eritrean troops it says are operating inside its territory, particularly in the northern Tigray region, as renewed clashes fuel fears of a broader conflict in the Horn of Africa.
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Enatalem Melese, Ethiopia’s government communication service minister, said every foreign force present on Ethiopian soil must leave, specifically pointing to alleged Eritrean deployments in Tigray.
“All foreign forces operating inside our sovereign territory must withdraw immediately,” Melese told Bloomberg.
The accusation follows fresh fighting in northern Ethiopia, where federal forces and Tigrayan fighters have again clashed, underscoring the region’s fragile security environment.
Ethiopia has previously accused Eritrea of backing opposition groups and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the political and military movement that controlled the region before war erupted in 2020. Eritrea has rejected those claims.
Ties between the neighbours have worsened in recent months as their security priorities diverged and disagreements over northern Ethiopia intensified.
The diplomatic breakdown accelerated after Ethiopia shut its embassy in Asmara. Eritrea then severed diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, adding to the strain between the two countries.
The latest allegations threaten to further destabilise an already volatile part of the Horn of Africa, where internal conflicts intersect with cross-border disputes and competing regional interests.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed tens of thousands of people. Their relationship improved after a landmark peace agreement in 2018, but that rapprochement has since come under renewed pressure.
Eritrea was also a major participant in the two-year Tigray war, which began in November 2020 as Ethiopian federal forces and their allies battled the TPLF-led regional government.
The conflict officially ended with the Pretoria peace agreement in November 2022. However, unresolved political disputes and continuing security concerns have kept tensions high and threatened stability in the region.
Renewed fighting in Tigray has raised concern that Ethiopia’s internal tensions could cross its borders, particularly if the allegations of Eritrean military involvement trigger another confrontation between the neighbours.
A direct Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict could carry serious consequences for the wider Horn of Africa, a strategically important area bordering the Red Sea and marked by overlapping political and security rivalries.
The developments come as regional governments face growing pressure to contain the renewed hostilities and prevent a wider war from further destabilising an already fragile region.
AXADLETM
