Eritrean troops deploy in Ethiopia's Tigray region, witnesses say

Eritrean troops have deployed in recent days around a town in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, a local official and residents said Wednesday, after two weeks of internal conflict threatening a wider regional war.

Fighting broke out between the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian federal forces on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022.

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing the rebels. Long-standing tensions between the two neighbours deepened last week when they severed diplomatic ties.

The Ethiopian army has successfully pushed back the Tigrayan rebels with the help of local militias and entered the regional capital of Mekelle at the weekend without a fight as the TPLF abandoned the city.

Multiple sources told AFP that Eritrean troops were in Adigrat, around 115 kilometres (70 miles) north of Mekelle on the way to the Eritrean border, and were pushing south.

Analysts say Eritrea is keen to prevent the war spilling into its territory should the TPLF be forced to retreat across the border.

"The Eritrean army has entered Tigray in uniform, equipped with heavy weaponry," said Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the Tigray Peace Force, the pro-government militia that has fought alongside the federal 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 Adigrat, two eyewitnesses saw Eritrean soldiers on the streets, heading southwards.

A local official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the troops had been there for days and "the population is very concerned".

One eyewitness said "Eritrean troops, loaded onto large trucks, patrol vehicles and other vehicles" were heading south.

"They are passing through, carrying heavy weaponry," the witness added.

Insecurity was also reported to the west of Mekelle, with an Adwa resident telling AFP there had been drone strikes over the weekend on hotels in the town, killing several civilians and wounding four others.

Regional tensions

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and the two sides fought a brutal border war between 1998 and 2000.

Relations improved markedly with the rise of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018 and Eritrea even fought alongside Ethiopia during the 2020-2022 civil war against the TPLF.

But the relationship deteriorated after the war. Eritrea fears landlocked Ethiopia plans to invade to seize direct access to the Red Sea.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and shut its embassy in Asmara, while Eritrea responded that it would "sever all diplomatic ties".

There were fears this week that the TPLF could retreat into Eritrea, giving Ethiopia a pretext to invade.

Regional expert Kjetil Tronvoll, of Oslo New University College, told AFP that "for Eritrea it is essential to maintain strategic depth and a buffer zone in northern Tigray, and to meet and fight (the Ethiopian army) on Tigrayan soil".