Eritrean troops have suffered “heavy losses” and retreated towards their country’s border with Ethiopia, a spokesperson for an Ethiopian pro-government militia has told AFP, amid growing fears of a wider regional conflict.
The development came as Ethiopian federal forces and their allies advanced towards a town near the Eritrean border on Wednesday, according to a militia commander and a local resident.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which launched a major offensive against government forces on September 23 but was subsequently pushed back and lost control of several strongholds.
A foreign security source estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 Eritrean troops had been deployed inside Ethiopian territory to support the rebels before being forced into an apparent retreat.
“The Eritrean army crossed into Ethiopia and violated its sovereignty, but it has suffered heavy losses and retreated towards the border,” Solomon Hailemariam, spokesperson for the Tigray Peace Force, a pro-government militia, told AFP.
AFP said it could not independently verify the claims.
However, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel dismissed the militia’s account, describing it as “not trustworthy”.
He also rejected reports that Ethiopian troops had crossed into Eritrea, calling the claims “absolutely false”.
The latest developments follow a renewed government offensive against the TPLF, which once controlled much of Ethiopia before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.
The group retained control of the northern Tigray region and fought a devastating civil war against the federal government between 2020 and 2022. The conflict ended with an agreement, but tensions remained unresolved.
Over the past two weeks, government forces have regained ground, with the TPLF losing control of the regional capital, Mekelle, and other towns and cities.
“The TPLF is no longer in a position to stand and fight, we have either seized or destroyed its weapons,” Hailemariam said.
He added that pro-government forces had assembled in areas bordering Eritrea.
The International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organisation, warned on Monday that Ethiopia and Eritrea were “perilously close to all-out war” as fighting moved towards their shared border.
The organisation urged the international community to pressure both countries to prevent further escalation.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and the two countries fought a devastating border war between 1998 and 2000.
Relations improved briefly after Abiy became prime minister, but tensions have since resurfaced over the conflict in Tigray. The two countries severed relations entirely this month amid the escalating crisis.
Eritrea has accused landlocked Ethiopia of using the conflict as a pretext to invade its territory and seize control of Assab, a strategic port on the Red Sea.
The latest military developments have heightened concerns that the renewed confrontation between the neighbouring countries could trigger a broader conflict in the Horn of Africa.
