Several Ethiopian drone strikes targeted Eritrean forces and ammunition near the city of Adigrat in northern Tigray overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, according to witnesses and conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED, in an escalation that came days after Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic ties.
Reports of movements and strikes near Adigrat
ACLED said Eritrean forces crossed the border at the Zalambessa area on Wednesday before Ethiopian military drones targeted them at Guada as they moved towards Edaga Hamus. The organisation added that ‘Eritrean forces and ammunition’ around Adigrat were hit several times overnight. A witness in Adigrat reported a large number of drone raids, saying Eritrean lorries were destroyed and disappeared from the area’s streets after the strikes.
The witnesses’ accounts and the information provided by the organisation about the military movements and strikes could not be independently verified. Ermias Ababo, a commander in the Tigray Peace Force allied with the Ethiopian government, said Eritrean personnel entered Adigrat on Tuesday and then reached Edaga Hamus on Wednesday.
He added that Eritrean officers and military commanders carried out reconnaissance operations in Edaga Hamus, based on reports he received from his personnel in the area. In Adigrat, two witnesses said they saw dozens of Eritrean soldiers moving through the city in two lorries and identified them by their light-coloured camouflage uniforms. The city lies about 25 kilometres south of the Eritrean border.
A commander in the Tigray Peace Force also said the forces entered the region in military uniform and with heavy equipment and were hit by drones. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel rejected Ethiopia’s accusations, saying the government in Addis Ababa was crafting what he described as a false narrative of ‘self-defence’ to justify military action against Eritrea.
Renewed fighting widens disruption across Tigray’s cities
The minister did not specifically address the details announced by ACLED regarding the forces’ locations or the airstrikes. The developments came amid renewed fighting between Ethiopian government forces and an opposition alliance comprising the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and six other groups.
The Front had announced its withdrawal from Mekelle, the regional capital, before federal forces and their allies entered the city on Sunday, while the Tigray Peace Force imposed a curfew from 8pm to 6am. Residents of the city of Shire also reported the withdrawal of Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces on Wednesday, while shops closed and goods were moved for fear of looting.
One resident said government forces and their allies had not entered the city when he spoke, despite reports circulating that they were nearing it. Shire is a major centre for displaced people and humanitarian relief operations in Tigray.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapse
Diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea collapsed in early October after Addis Ababa closed its embassy in Asmara and expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats, including the chargé d’affaires and diplomats accredited to the African Union. Eritrea responded by announcing a complete severance of ties, saying Ethiopia’s steps had left it with no choice but to reciprocate.
The Ethiopian government accuses Eritrea of supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a charge Asmara denies, saying it is an attempt to blame it for an internal conflict. Fighting in northern Ethiopia has intensified since late September, weakening the peace agreement signed in November 2022 that ended a two-year war between the federal government and Tigray forces.
The two countries had ended their state of war, resumed diplomatic relations and reopened their border after the 2018 peace agreement, following a border war between 1998 and 2000.
Eritrean forces also fought alongside Ethiopian forces during the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, before relations between the two governments deteriorated again.
