Eritrea Urges UN Intervention as Tensions With Ethiopia Escalate

Eritrea has asked the United Nations to adopt "deterrent measures" after accusing Ethiopia of "declaring war" in a conflict tied to the Tigray region. The request came a day after Addis Ababa, in a letter to the Security Council, accused Asmara of launching a "full-scale invasion," alleging that Eritrean troops had advanced as far as 60 km into Ethiopia's Tigray territory.

In a separate letter to the Security Council on Saturday, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh said the allegations of Eritrean incursion were part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression, and called on the United Nations to intervene, invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter — the provision that allows measures ranging from sanctions to military action.

The two neighboring countries accuse each other of starting the war over Tigray, where Ethiopia says Eritrea is backing rebel groups.

An alliance of seven armed groups launched an offensive against Ethiopian federal forces in the northern region last month, in an effort to topple the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Since then, Eritrean forces are reported to have entered Ethiopian territory, while Addis Ababa accuses Asmara of backing the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

The Ethiopian military this week pushed back TPLF rebels and took control of the regional capital Mekelle. Ethiopia also said it carried out drone strikes targeting Eritrean troops in the area.

"Eritrea requests the UN Security Council to strongly condemn Ethiopia's declaration of war against Eritrea... and to adopt the necessary deterrent measures," Foreign Minister Saleh said in Saturday's letter. He said Ethiopia's actions would cause "enormous devastation for the people of both countries and destabilize the entire region."

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos on Friday accused Eritrea of committing "a blatant act of aggression, involving Ethiopia's inherent right to self-defense." Timothewos invoked Ethiopia's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter but did not specify what measures the country was taking.

Faisal Roble, an expert on the Horn of Africa, said both sides are "preparing for the final phase of an overt conflict."

"There is no doubt that both are gradually moving toward an overt conflict," he told Al Jazeera from the Kenyan capital Nairobi. "Whatever they write to the United Nations, it is merely a move to state their position and seek a certain degree of international support," the expert added.

'Deceitful efforts'

In his letter, Foreign Minister Saleh called Ethiopia's actions "deceitful efforts to rationalize brazen acts of war," describing them as "empty in content."

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel on Friday accused Ethiopia of pursuing aggression against Eritrea through demands for sovereign access to the Red Sea. Writing on X, he neither confirmed nor explicitly denied reports of troops crossing the border.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy on Monday reiterated that Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and the two countries fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000. Relations improved after Abiy took power in 2018 but have deteriorated in recent years.

Landlocked Ethiopia has repeatedly asserted its right to direct sea access, which Eritrea views as a threat of invasion and seizure of its port of Assab.

The TPLF fought Ethiopian government forces, then backed by Eritrea, in a devastating war from 2020 to 2022.