Eritrea, Ethiopia accuse each other of provoking war as Tigray rebels retreat

What the report says

Ethiopia and Eritrea on Friday traded accusations over who is provoking a new war, as fighting around Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region appeared to widen beyond a domestic conflict. France 24, citing AFP, reported that Ethiopian officials say Eritrean troops are present in Tigray in support of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which launched attacks on federal forces last month. A security source quoted by AFP estimated that several thousand Eritrean soldiers may be in the area, though that figure could not be independently verified in the report.

The dispute intensified after both countries severed diplomatic relations. Ethiopia’s foreign minister described Eritrea’s presence as aggression and said Ethiopia had the right to defend itself. Eritrea rejected that claim, with its information minister saying Eritrea faced an unprovoked war of aggression from Ethiopia. The article said Ethiopian forces have used drone strikes against Eritrean positions in northern Tigray over the past week.

On the ground, Ethiopia’s army said it had retaken Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital, and witnesses told AFP that the rebels had also lost Shire and Adigrat. An aid worker in Shire described looting and casualties there, while a conflict monitor and witnesses said Eritrean forces had been seen in Adigrat before coming under attack. The report added that the TPLF was retreating toward Sheraro near the Eritrean border.

The broader context is a long and volatile history between the two neighbors, including a 1998-2000 border war and Eritrea’s role alongside Ethiopia in the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict. The latest accusations matter because they raise the risk of a regional confrontation involving state forces, rebels and cross-border military operations.