Witnesses spot Eritrean troops inside northern Ethiopia as tensions flare

Eritrea dismisses allegation as Ethiopia’s pretext for more war.

Members of Ethiopia's joint military force at Mekelle airport, which federal forces retook after a rebel group withdrew from the city, October 6, 2026 [AFP]

Eritrean soldiers have been seen driving through a northern town inside Ethiopia, witnesses tell the Reuters news agency, days after the neighbouring countries severed ties.

At least two witnesses told Reuters they saw “dozens” of Eritrean soldiers drive through Adigrat in two trucks on Wednesday. The town is located 25km (15 miles) south of the border with Eritrea.

The witnesses said they could identify the soldiers as Eritrean by their off-white camouflage uniforms.

Another Adigrat resident who was not in town at the time said family members had told him they had also seen Eritrean troops, according to Reuters, which could not independently verify their accounts.

“The Eritrean army has entered Tigray in uniform, equipped with heavy weaponry,” said Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the Tigray Peace Force, a pro-government militia that has fought alongside the federal army.

“This force is being struck by drones,” he said, adding Eritrea was “deliberately deploying its forces so that the fighting takes place inside Tigray rather than spilling into Eritrea”.

Last week, the chief administrator in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region said Eritrean troops were fighting in the area, but Reuters was unable to confirm the claim.

In a statement on X, Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel did not deny that troops had crossed the border, but said Ethiopia’s government was creating “a fallacious narrative of ‘self-defense’ to rationalise and camouflage its war of aggression”.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time Eritrean forces have been seen inside Ethiopia since the renewal of fighting between Ethiopian forces and a seven-group armed alliance, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), on September 23.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, as well as Egypt and Sudan of backing the armed alliance which is fighting to remove the government. All three countries have denied involvement.

Eritrea announced it was severing ties with Ethiopia on Thursday after Addis Ababa announced it would close its embassy in Asmara and expel 10 Eritrean diplomats.

In a statement, Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ethiopia’s actions had left it with “no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia”.

Members of the Ethiopian pro-government Tigray Peace Force (TPF) give a thumbs up to residents after Ethiopian federal and allied forces entered the Tigray capital of Mekelle on October 4, 2026 [AFP]

On Monday, Ethiopian forces captured Tigray’s regional capital Mekelle, days after the TPLF confirmed that it had withdrawn from the city and moved its regional administration “temporarily” to another location.

It happened as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in for another five-year term , during which he insisted that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea.

On the same day, Eritrea joined Somalia, Sudan and Egypt in issuing a joint declaration calling for a political and peaceful solution to the war in Ethiopia.

The declaration appeared to push back against several policies pursued by Ethiopia in recent years, highlighting widening rifts between Addis Ababa and its neighbours.

厄立特里亚驳斥了这一指控，称其为埃塞俄比亚发动更多战争的借口。

2026年10月6日，埃塞俄比亚联合军事部队成员在梅克莱机场，此前反叛组织撤出该市后，联邦军队重新夺回了该机场。[法新社]

据路透社报道，目击者称，在厄立特里亚和埃塞俄比亚断交几天后，有人看到厄立特里亚士兵驾车穿过埃塞俄比亚北部的一个城镇。

至少两名目击者告诉路透社，他们周三看到“数十名”厄立特里亚士兵乘坐两辆卡车驶过阿迪格拉特镇。该镇位于厄立特里亚边境以南25公里（15英里）处。

目击者称，他们可以通过士兵们身穿的米白色迷彩服辨认出他们是厄立特里亚人。

据路透社报道，另一位当时不在镇上的​​阿迪格拉特居民表示，他的家人告诉他，他们也看到了厄立特里亚军队，但路透社无法独立核实他们的说法。

“厄立特里亚军队身着制服，携带重型武器进入提格雷，”提格雷和平部队指挥官格布雷格齐亚伯·贝耶内说道。提格雷和平部队是一支亲政府的民兵组织，曾与联邦军队并肩作战。

他说：“这支部队正遭受无人机的袭击”，并补充说，厄立特里亚“故意部署其部队，以便战斗发生在提格雷州境内，而不是蔓延到厄立特里亚境内”。

上周，埃塞俄比亚东北部阿法尔州首席行政长官表示，厄立特里亚军队正在该地区作战，但路透社无法证实这一说法。

在 X 号新闻发布会上，厄立特里亚新闻部长耶曼·梅斯克尔没有否认军队越过边境，但表示埃塞俄比亚政府正在炮制“自卫的谬论”，以使其侵略战争合理化和掩盖其侵略行为。

如果得到证实，这将是自 9 月 23 日埃塞俄比亚军队与包括提格雷人民解放阵线 (TPLF) 在内的七个武装联盟之间重新爆发战斗以来，厄立特里亚军队首次出现在埃塞俄比亚境内。

埃塞俄比亚指责厄立特里亚、埃及和苏丹支持旨在推翻其政府的武装联盟。这三个国家均否认参与其中。

周四，厄立特里亚宣布与埃塞俄比亚断绝外交关系。此前，亚的斯亚贝巴宣布将关闭其驻阿斯马拉大使馆，并驱逐 10 名厄立特里亚外交官。

厄立特里亚外交部在一份声明中表示，埃塞俄比亚的行为使其“别无选择，只能以牙还牙，断绝与埃塞俄比亚的一切外交关系”。

2026年10月4日，埃塞俄比亚联邦政府及其盟军进入提格雷州首府默克莱后，埃塞俄比亚亲政府的提格雷和平部队（TPF）成员向居民竖起大拇指。[法新社]

周一，埃塞俄比亚军队占领了提格雷州首府默克莱。几天前，提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）证实，该组织已从默克莱撤出，并将其地区行政机构“暂时”转移到另一个地点。

此事发生在埃塞俄比亚总理阿比·艾哈迈德宣誓就职，开始其又一个五年任期之际。在任期内，他坚持认为，这个内陆国家必须拥有通往红海的通道。

同一天，厄立特里亚与索马里、苏丹和埃及共同发表联合声明，呼吁以政治和平的方式解决埃塞俄比亚战争。

该声明似乎对埃塞俄比亚近年来推行的几项政策提出了反驳，凸显了亚的斯亚贝巴与其邻国之间日益扩大的裂痕。