Ethiopia’s army chief has accused neighboring Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing rebel forces that seized several strategic towns in renewed fighting in the country’s north, prompting denials and raising fears that the conflict could widen across the region.
Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, chief of the general staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, said Friday that Eritrea was mobilizing financial support for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF.
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He said Eritrea and the TPLF would require backing from Sudan and Egypt, suggesting outside involvement without providing further details.
The TPLF and Ethiopian federal forces fought from November 2020 until November 2022, when the sides signed a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa. A caretaker administration viewed as loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was then installed in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. Tensions nevertheless persisted as the TPLF sought to regain political influence in the city.
Over the weekend, TPLF fighters seized Erebti, a strategically important town in the northern Afar region, a commander told The Associated Press on Monday. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to brief the media.
An official with the Tigray Peace Force, a breakaway group of Tigrayan rebels that is now allied with federal forces in Afar, confirmed the town had fallen to the rebels. He disputed reports that the takeover involved heavy fighting.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, reported Monday that the number of wounded patients being treated in northern Ethiopia had risen sharply.
Patient numbers at hospitals in Korem and Alamata climbed from roughly 180 to more than 420 within 48 hours. MSF also said 300 wounded people had reached Suhul Hospital in the northeast the previous week.
Valerie Browning, co-founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association, told The Associated Press that approximately 150,000 people had been displaced.
Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of trying to forge an alliance with Eritrea to destabilize the country. Abiy’s campaign for sovereign access to Eritrea’s Red Sea port of Assab has renewed tensions with Eritrea, which borders Tigray. His attempt to negotiate maritime access through North Western State of Somalia has also angered Somalia.
Eritrea, in turn, accused Ethiopia of deflecting blame for the continuing conflict. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on X that Ethiopia’s pursuit of sea access had unsettled both Eritrea and Somalia, while its decision to host militia training in support of Sudan’s militia had strained relations with neighboring countries.
Sudan’s armed forces rejected Ethiopia’s allegations in a statement, accusing Addis Ababa of backing militias fighting the Sudanese military — an apparent reference to the Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with Sudan’s army since 2023.
Eritrean forces fought alongside Ethiopia’s military against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 Tigray war. Researchers at Ghent University estimated that 500,000 people died in the conflict, including victims of violence, famine and the collapse of health services.
