Witnesses in Ethiopia say they saw Eritrean soldiers moving through a town in the country's north, just days after the two neighboring states severed diplomatic relations, according to Reuters.
At least two witnesses told Reuters they saw "dozens" of Eritrean soldiers pass through the town of Adigrat in two trucks on Wednesday. Adigrat lies about 25 kilometers south of the Eritrean border. The witnesses identified the soldiers as Eritrean by their off-white camouflage uniforms. Another Adigrat resident, who was not in the town at the time, also said family members had seen Eritrean forces. Reuters said it could not independently verify the accounts.
Gebreigziabher Beyene, a commander of the Tigray Peace Force — a pro-government militia that has fought alongside the federal army — said: "Eritrean troops have entered Tigray in uniform, equipped with heavy weapons." He added that the force was coming under drone attack and accused Eritrea of "deliberately deploying forces so that the fighting takes place inside Tigray rather than spreading into Eritrea."
Last week, the head of the administration in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region also said Eritrean soldiers were fighting in the area, a claim Reuters has not been able to confirm.
In a statement on the social media platform X, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel did not deny that his country's military had crossed the border, but said the Ethiopian government was manufacturing "a fabricated 'self-defense' narrative to justify and disguise its war of aggression."
If confirmed, it would be the first time Eritrean forces have been seen inside Ethiopia since fighting between the Ethiopian military and a seven-group armed alliance that includes the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) reignited on September 23.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, along with Egypt and Sudan, of backing the armed alliance fighting to topple the government. All three countries deny involvement.
Eritrea announced it was cutting ties with Ethiopia on Thursday, after Addis Ababa said it was closing its embassy in Asmara and expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats. In a statement, Eritrea's Foreign Ministry said Ethiopia's actions left it "with no choice but to respond in kind and sever all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia."
On Monday, Ethiopian forces captured Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, days after the TPLF confirmed it was withdrawing from the city and temporarily relocating the regional administration elsewhere. The development coincided with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's swearing-in for a five-year term, in which he stressed that the landlocked nation must have access to the Red Sea.
The same day, Eritrea joined Somalia, Sudan and Egypt in a joint statement calling for a political and peaceful solution to the war in Ethiopia. The statement appeared to oppose some of the policies Ethiopia has pursued in recent years, pointing to deepening rifts between Addis Ababa and its neighbors.
