Eritrean troops have been deployed in recent days around a town in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a local official and residents said Wednesday, after around 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.
– Over the weekend, the Ethiopian army and an allied Tigrayan militia entered the regional capital of Mekelle without a fight after the TPLF pulled out.
– A commander with the militia told AFP his troops had reached Wukro town, roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the city, and on the main road leading to Eritrea in the north.
– Sources said Eritrean troops were in Adigrat, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) by road south of the Eritrean border, with some headed south towards Mekelle.
– Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the rebels, which it has denied.
– “There have been Eritrean soldiers in Adigrat for the past four days, the population is very concerned,” a local city official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
– An eyewitness also reported seeing troops “wearing Eritrean military uniforms” heading south along Adigrat’s main road.
– Another eyewitness said “Eritrean troops, loaded onto large trucks, patrol vehicles and other vehicles” were heading towards the town of Idaga Hamus, roughly 20 kilometers south of the city.
– “They are passing through, carrying heavy weaponry,” the witness added.
– Long-standing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea have recently escalated with the two neighboring countries severing diplomatic ties last week.
– Eritrea fears that landlocked Ethiopia plans to invade its territory to gain direct access to the Red Sea.