ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian government forces and their militia allies entered Adigrat, near the border with Horn of Africa neighbour Eritrea, on Saturday, three residents said, days after Eritrean troops were pushed back from the strategic city. The incursion by Eritrean troops, which Eritrea has denied, has raised fears of a return to all-out war along Ethiopia's northern border, where the two nations have clashed before. Conflicts elsewhere in the region and tensions across the Red Sea have further raised the stakes. Three Adigrat residents said they had seen the Ethiopian army and an allied militia in the city on Saturday morning, with one of the residents saying they saw soldiers on patrol along with military vehicles.
Eritrea asked the UN Security Council to take deterrent measures against Ethiopia, according to a letter on Saturday, saying Addis Ababa's accusations of an "all-out invasion" by Eritrean forces amounted to a "declaration of war." Eritrea has said reports of an Eritrean incursion are false, and on Saturday, its Foreign Minister Osman Saleh said the claims were part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression and urged the UN to intervene, invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows measures from sanctions to military action.
Ethiopia's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and city officials were not reachable on Saturday. Ethiopia said in a letter to members of the UN Security Council this week that Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60 km inside Tigray in recent days, warning that the presence of foreign forces left it with no option but to defend itself.
Eritrea has said reports of an Eritrean incursion are false and part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression. Explosions were reported near Adigrat on Wednesday and Thursday as the US-based conflict monitor ACLED said Ethiopia used drone strikes against Eritrean forces, who then withdrew from positions near the city.
The explosions continued on Friday, according to an Adigrat resident, who said they had heard repeated explosions overnight and into the morning several kilometres outside town. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson and Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yemane said on Friday that Eritrea had shown restraint, accusing landlocked Ethiopia of declaring a war of aggression against his country by stating in 2023 it would acquire sovereign access to the sea. Ethiopia had access to a coastline for decades until Eritrea gained independence from Addis Ababa in 1993. Ethiopia argues that restoring sea access is an existential issue but has said it would be restored through peace and dialogue.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance that has been battling government troops since September 23 in its northern regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar. Eritrea has denied doing so.
After years of war, Eritrea and Ethiopia made peace in a 2018 agreement that earned Ethiopia's Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. Eritrea fought in support of Ethiopia’s federal government during a 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray, but relations soured again towards the end of that conflict. The fighting that broke out last month has been the biggest escalation of violence since the Tigray war, in which hundreds of thousands died. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
