Ethiopian troops enter Adigrat as Eritrea appeals to UN Security Council
Government forces have entered the Tigray city 30 km from the Eritrean border. Asmara is urging the Security Council to act against what it calls Ethiopia's 'declaration of war'.
Photo: Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · Al Jazeera English · youtube.com
Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are escalating further. Ethiopian government troops and allied militias entered Adigrat on Saturday, residents told Reuters – a city in the Tigray region about 30 km from the Eritrean border. A social media video verified by Reuters showed militia members walking in the city's streets. According to the conflict monitor ACLED, Eritrean troops had earlier crossed the border near Zalambessa and came under attack near Adigrat from drones likely launched by Ethiopian government forces. Eritrea denies any incursion; this could not be independently verified.
Both sides have turned to the UN Security Council. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos wrote that Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60 km into Tigray, calling it "a blatant act of aggression that engages Ethiopia's inherent right to self-defence" under Article 51 of the UN Charter. On Saturday, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh urged the Council to condemn Ethiopia's "deplorable declaration of war" and take "deterrent measures".
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing a rebel alliance that has been fighting government troops in Tigray, Amhara and Afar since Sept. 23; Eritrea denies this. The neighbours have severed diplomatic ties. The dispute is also driven by Ethiopia's desire for access to the Red Sea, which it lost when Eritrea became independent in 1993. According to Reuters, the fighting is the biggest escalation of violence since the 2020–2022 Tigray war, which killed hundreds of thousands.