ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of violating its sovereignty by allegedly deploying troops into the northern Tigray region without authorization, raising fresh concerns over the fragile security situation in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia, Suleiman Daddafo, made the allegations, claiming that Eritrean forces had crossed into Tigray and accusing the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of cooperating with Eritrea against the federal government in Addis Ababa.
The accusations come amid renewed tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose relations have deteriorated significantly in recent years despite a peace agreement that ended their earlier border war.
The situation in Tigray remains particularly sensitive following the devastating conflict between Ethiopian federal forces and the TPLF from 2020 to 2022. The Pretoria peace agreement, signed in November 2022, brought an end to the large-scale fighting but left a number of political, security and territorial issues unresolved.
Ethiopia’s latest allegations have raised concerns that renewed tensions involving Addis Ababa, Asmara and actors in Tigray could undermine the fragile peace established after the 2022 agreement.
The Ethiopian government has repeatedly expressed concern over foreign military involvement in its internal affairs and has stressed the importance of respecting the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Eritrea has not publicly confirmed or denied the latest allegations regarding the deployment of its forces into Tigray.
The TPLF’s alleged cooperation with Eritrea, as claimed by the Ethiopian ambassador, also remains disputed and has not been independently established.
Any confirmed movement of Eritrean troops into Tigray would represent a significant development given Eritrea’s previous military involvement in the Tigray conflict and the longstanding tensions between Asmara and Addis Ababa.
Regional observers are closely watching developments because renewed fighting in Tigray could have consequences well beyond northern Ethiopia, potentially affecting relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and increasing instability across the wider Horn of Africa.
The allegations also come at a time when Ethiopia is dealing with several internal security challenges and continuing efforts to implement the Tigray peace agreement.
For now, there is no independent confirmation of the alleged troop deployment, and the situation remains subject to competing claims from the parties involved.
Any escalation between Ethiopia and Eritrea could have serious implications for regional stability, trade, security cooperation and humanitarian conditions in the Horn of Africa.
The latest accusations have therefore heightened concerns that unresolved tensions between Addis Ababa and Asmara could once again place Tigray at the centre of a wider regional crisis.
