Ethiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of launching a large-scale invasion of its northern territory, warning that it has the right to defend itself as renewed fighting and explosions near the border raise fears of a wider regional war.
In a letter circulated to members of the United Nations Security Council, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos alleged that Eritrean troops had advanced as far as 60 kilometres into Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
The letter, dated Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday, described Eritrea’s alleged military incursion as an act of aggression that justified Ethiopia’s right to self-defence under international law.
Eritrea rejected the accusations, instead accusing Addis Ababa of pursuing a campaign of aggression aimed at securing access to the Red Sea.
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said Ethiopia had effectively been waging an unprovoked war against his country for more than three years, linking the deteriorating relationship to Ethiopian statements in 2023 about obtaining sovereign access to the sea.
He accused Ethiopian authorities of exploiting the latest confrontation to justify a possible attempt to seize Assab, Eritrea’s strategically important Red Sea port.
Ethiopia, which became landlocked following Eritrea’s independence in 1993, has repeatedly described access to the sea as a vital national interest, while maintaining that the issue should be resolved through peaceful negotiations.
Explosions reported near Adigrat
The diplomatic confrontation comes amid reports of continued military activity near Adigrat, a town in northern Tigray approximately 30 kilometres from the Eritrean border.
According to the US-based conflict monitoring organisation ACLED, drone strikes believed to have been carried out by Ethiopia’s military targeted Eritrean troops on Wednesday and Thursday as they withdrew from positions near the town.
A resident of Adigrat told Reuters that repeated explosions were heard overnight and into Friday morning from locations several kilometres outside the town.
Witnesses also reported seeing Eritrean soldiers inside northern Ethiopia earlier this week, days after diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed.
Eritrea has not directly addressed the reported presence of its forces on Ethiopian territory. Its information minister previously dismissed claims of an incursion as part of an Ethiopian effort to manufacture justification for military action.
Ethiopian forces advance in Tigray
Meanwhile, Ethiopian federal forces have reportedly made further territorial gains in Tigray during recent days of fighting against a rebel alliance.
In a sign that the government is seeking to restore normal operations in areas under its control, Ethiopian Airlines announced that flights to Mekelle, the regional capital, would resume on Sunday, October 11.
The latest confrontation follows renewed fighting that erupted on September 23 across parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar.
Ethiopian authorities have accused Eritrea of supporting the rebel alliance fighting federal forces, an allegation Asmara denies.
Fears of another regional war
The growing confrontation threatens to unravel years of fragile relations between the two neighbours.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a devastating border war between 1998 and 2000 before signing a peace agreement in 2018, a breakthrough that helped Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed secure the Nobel Peace Prize.
Eritrean forces subsequently fought alongside Ethiopian federal troops during the 2020–2022 Tigray civil war. However, relations deteriorated toward the end of that conflict as political and security disagreements resurfaced.
The latest hostilities represent the most serious escalation since the Tigray war, which killed hundreds of thousands of people and devastated communities across northern Ethiopia.
With both governments accusing each other of aggression, renewed fighting along the frontier has raised concerns that Ethiopia’s internal conflict could develop into another interstate war, further destabilising the Horn of Africa and the strategically important Red Sea region.
The latest Reuters reporting dated October 9 confirms the competing accusations and military developments. The reported 60-kilometre incursion remains an Ethiopian government claim, rather than an independently established extent of the deployment.
