Eritrean troops move deep into Ethiopia's Tigray region as fighting escalates

The recent reports of Eritrean troops moving deep into Ethiopia's Tigray region mark a critical escalation in the renewed conflict between the Ethiopian national army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). This development is particularly alarming given Eritrea's significant role as an ally to Ethiopia during the brutal 2020-2022 civil war against the TPLF, a conflict that pushed the region to the brink of famine and was one of the deadliest of the century. The current unrest follows months of simmering tension and mutual accusations of violating the 2022 peace agreement, which was intended to bring lasting stability to the volatile region. The reported troop movements, observed by residents in towns like Adigrat and Edaga Hamus, suggest a substantial military presence, including convoys of trucks carrying soldiers and heavy weapons, raising immediate concerns about the conflict's trajectory and its potential for broader destabilization.

Adigrat

Residents of Adigrat, a key town in Tigray, have provided eyewitness accounts to the BBC, detailing the movement of Eritrean military convoys through their city. These reports describe dozens of trucks laden with soldiers, some moving south towards Edaga Hamus, a town situated between Adigrat and Mekelle, the regional capital. The presence of Eritrean forces in these areas is particularly distressing for local populations, who recall alleged atrocities committed by Eritrean soldiers during the previous civil war. The emotional impact on residents, as described by one anonymous source, underscores the deep-seated trauma and fear associated with the return of these forces. The BBC, while unable to independently verify all troop movements due to reporting restrictions, notes that multiple accounts corroborate the sightings, with some relatives in Mekelle also reporting larger deployments near Edaga Hamus.

Tigray People's Liberation Front

The current escalation comes shortly after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) withdrew from Mekelle, which is now under the control of the Ethiopian army. The TPLF, a key protagonist in the previous civil war and a member of a newly formed alliance of armed groups in Ethiopia, has been locked in renewed clashes with federal forces for the past two weeks. Both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF blame each other for violating the 2022 peace deal, which aimed to end the two-year conflict. Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of backing the TPLF in the past, though Asmara has denied this. However, the recent accusations by senior Ethiopian government official Abraham Belay, stating that the Eritrean army has participated with its full capacity and logistics, directly implicate Eritrea in the current fighting, suggesting a complex and shifting web of alliances and antagonisms.

Red Sea ports

The deteriorating relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, despite their previous alliance against the TPLF, are largely attributed to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's ambition to gain access to one of Eritrea's Red Sea ports. Ethiopia, being landlocked, views access to a port as a strategic national interest, but this ambition has become a significant point of contention with Eritrea. The diplomatic fallout culminated in the two countries severing diplomatic relations just last week, coinciding with the renewed fighting in Tigray. This underlying geopolitical tension over port access adds another layer of complexity to the conflict, transforming what might appear to be an internal Ethiopian struggle into a regional flashpoint with broader implications for maritime trade routes and stability in the Horn of Africa.