Ethiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of mounting an “all-out invasion” of its northern territory, escalating fears that renewed fighting in Tigray could develop into a wider interstate war in the Horn of Africa.
In a letter dated October 8 and addressed to the United Nations Security Council, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos said Eritrean troops, including mechanised units, had deployed as far as 60 kilometres inside Ethiopia. The letter demanded their immediate withdrawal and said their alleged presence constituted an act of aggression engaging Ethiopia’s right to self-defence.
The document, shared with Reuters by a senior Ethiopian government official, was Ethiopia’s first formal statement on the reported Eritrean incursions this week. The claimed depth and full extent of the deployment have not been independently verified.
There is, however, corroborating evidence that Eritrean personnel crossed into northern Ethiopia. A commander aligned with Ethiopia’s government told the Associated Press that Eritrean forces entered Adigrat on Tuesday and Idaga Hamus on Wednesday. Residents and other witnesses have also reported seeing Eritrean soldiers and military vehicles in Tigray.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data monitoring group said Eritrean troops crossed at Zelambesa and were later targeted by Ethiopian drones while moving towards Idaga Hamus. AP said it could not independently verify those accounts, and no authenticated public footage reviewed for this report conclusively shows the alleged incursion itself.
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Ethiopia’s UN letter. In an earlier statement, he described reports about Eritrean involvement as part of an Ethiopian effort to justify aggression. His remarks did not explicitly confirm or deny that Eritrean troops had entered Ethiopia.
The confrontation is unfolding alongside renewed internal fighting. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front and six other opposition groups launched an offensive against the Ethiopian government in September, undermining the peace agreement that ended the devastating 2020–2022 Tigray war. Government-allied forces have since re-entered Mekelle, where federal police are attempting to restore government administration after opposition fighters withdrew.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated sharply despite their alliance during the earlier Tigray conflict. Eritrea severed diplomatic relations after Ethiopia expelled Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara. Tensions have also been aggravated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s repeated insistence that landlocked Ethiopia requires access to the Red Sea.
The immediate risk is that overlapping confrontations among Ethiopian federal forces, Tigrayan opposition groups and Eritrean troops could merge into a wider war. Such an escalation would threaten civilians still recovering from the previous conflict, disrupt humanitarian operations and carry security consequences across East Africa and the Red Sea corridor.
