Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of sending troops across its border and occupying parts of its territory, raising fears of a wider conflict in the Horn of Africa as renewed fighting threatens the fragile peace in the northern Tigray region.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos informed the United Nations Security Council that his country was taking measures in self defence against Eritrea. In a letter reported on Friday, October 9, he invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognises the right of countries to defend themselves against armed attacks.
The letter accused Eritrea of deploying infantry and mechanised units into northern Ethiopia in recent weeks. It also alleged that Eritrea was supporting, financing, arming and directing armed groups fighting against the Ethiopian government. However, the letter did not identify the specific areas allegedly occupied or explain what measures Ethiopia was taking in response.
The allegations have not been independently verified in full. Eritrea has not explicitly confirmed or denied the reported troop movements.
The latest developments have increased concerns about a possible direct confrontation between the two countries. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel accused Ethiopia of pursuing an aggressive policy linked to its demand for access to the Red Sea. His statement did not directly address the reported troop crossings.
Reports of Eritrean soldiers inside Ethiopia have added to the tensions. Witnesses told Reuters that they saw dozens of Eritrean soldiers travelling in two trucks through Adigrat, a town about 25 kilometres south of the Eritrean border.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an independent organisation that monitors violence, separately reported that Eritrean troops crossed into Ethiopia near Zelambesa and came under drone attack while travelling towards Idaga Hamus. The organisation attributed the strikes to the Ethiopian military. These accounts have not been independently verified in full, and the extent of any Eritrean military operation remains unclear.
Ethiopia's government has also accused Eritrean forces of advancing as far as 60 kilometres into its territory. This remains an allegation made by Ethiopia rather than an independently confirmed measurement of the incursion.
The United Nations has called for an immediate end to the fighting. Secretary General AntĂłnio Guterres expressed grave concern over renewed hostilities in Tigray, Afar and Amhara and warned that further escalation could threaten regional stability. He urged all parties to return to dialogue under the Pretoria Agreement, which was signed in November 2022 to end the previous war in Tigray.
The conflict has brought further changes in control of towns across Tigray. Government allied forces reported taking Idaga Hamus on Friday and Abiy Adi on Thursday. However, it remains unclear who controlled these towns immediately before the reported advances and whether Eritrean troops participated in the fighting.
In Mekelle, the regional capital, federal police have begun patrols following the withdrawal of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, known as the TPLF. Government allied fighters have entered the city as authorities work to establish a new regional administration.
The situation remains fragile. Government offices were still closed, and a new administration had not taken office by Friday morning. An overnight curfew had also been imposed. Telecommunications had resumed in Mekelle and much of Tigray, while electricity and mobile banking services had partially returned, although further interruptions remained possible.
Ethiopian Airlines was scheduled to resume flights to Mekelle on October 11. The planned resumption offered some hope of improved transport links, but it had not yet taken place as of Saturday, October 10.
The renewed fighting comes after a period of growing political and military tension. The TPLF joined six other opposition groups in an alliance seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Fighting escalated in late September, undermining the 2022 peace agreement and leading to the temporary seizure of Mekelle and its airport by Tigrayan fighters before government allied forces regained control.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have also moved towards a diplomatic break. Ethiopia ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country and announced the closure of its embassy in Asmara. Eritrea subsequently announced that it was severing diplomatic ties with its neighbour.
The two countries had previously fought alongside each other against the TPLF during the 2020 to 2022 Tigray war. That conflict caused widespread civilian suffering, displacement and damage to essential services. Researchers at Ghent University estimated that about 500,000 civilians died from violence, famine and the collapse of health services, although the figure remains an estimate.
Relations had improved in 2018, when Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace agreement after years of hostility. Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize that year for his efforts to resolve the conflict with Eritrea.
However, tensions have risen again over regional security and Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia became landlocked after Eritrea gained independence in 1993 and has increasingly described maritime access as a strategic national interest. Eritrea, which has a Red Sea coastline and ports including Assab, has expressed concern about Ethiopia's ambitions.
The current crisis therefore involves more than the renewed fighting in Tigray. It combines unresolved internal political divisions, allegations of cross border military activity and a growing dispute between two neighbouring countries with a history of war.
Ethiopia's invocation of Article 51 does not amount to a formal declaration of war, and the full scale of the alleged Eritrean incursion remains uncertain. With both governments exchanging serious accusations, the United Nations is urging restraint and renewed dialogue to prevent the crisis from developing into a wider regional conflict.