Eritrean troops have deployed in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, multiple sources said Wednesday, threatening to turn an internal conflict into a wider regional war.
“The Eritrean army has entered Tigray in uniform, equipped with heavy weaponry,” said Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the Tigray Peace Force, a pro-government militia that has fought alongside the Ethiopian army. “This force is being struck by drones,” he said, adding Eritrea was “deliberately deploying its forces so that the fighting takes place inside Tigray rather than spilling into Eritrea”. In a statement on X, Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Meskel, did not deny that troops had crossed the border, but said Ethiopia’s government was creating “a fallacious narrative of ‘self-defence’ to rationalise and camouflage its war of aggression”. A local official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the troops had been there for days and “the population is very concerned”. And it said Tigrayan rebel forces were “heavily present” around Wukro, a town along the same road that leads to the regional capital. “Eritrean forces entered the war in Tigray to halt the Ethiopian government and allied forces from reaching the border and potentially fighting within Eritrea’s territory,” ACLED said in a briefing note.
Conflict monitor ACLED said Eritrean troops had crossed the border at Zelambesa on Wednesday.
