Ethiopian drones struck Eritrean forces inside the northern Tigrayan city of Adigrat on Thursday, according to conflict monitors and witnesses, intensifying fears that renewed fighting could trigger a wider regional conflict.
Relations between the neighboring countries have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 and cut diplomatic ties last week.
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Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting rebels in the country’s northern Tigray region. On Wednesday, sources said Eritrean troops had crossed the border and taken positions around Adigrat.
Conflict monitor ACLED reported that “Eritrean troops and ammunition” in the Adigrat area were hit by “multiple drone strikes” overnight.
“There were many, many drone strikes yesterday, some Eritrean lorries have been destroyed, they are no more in the streets,” one witness told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Neither Asmara nor Addis Ababa has responded to inquiries about the reported developments in northern Ethiopia.
The alleged strikes came as fighting resumed between Ethiopian government forces and an opposition alliance that includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF.
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel on Wednesday accused Ethiopia of inventing allegations to create a pretext for military action against Eritrea.
In a post on X, he said Ethiopia’s ruling party was constructing “a fallacious narrative of ‘self-defense.’” He did not directly respond to ACLED’s account of troop movements or the reported drone strikes.
Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia during the 2020-2022 civil war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
The alliance later unraveled, with tensions worsening over landlocked Ethiopia’s continued claims that it is entitled to access the sea.
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