Ethiopian forces return to Adigrat after Eritrean troops pull back

Ethiopian government forces and allied militia have entered the northern city of Adigrat, residents say, days after Eritrean troops were reported to have crossed the border and moved into the area.

Three residents told the Reuters news agency they had seen the Ethiopian army and an allied militia in the city on Saturday morning, 10 October, with one saying soldiers were patrolling with military vehicles. Reuters could not confirm whether the army was in full control of the city, which lies about 30km from the border with Eritrea.

Drone strikes and a withdrawal

Explosions were reported near Adigrat on Wednesday and Thursday. The US-based conflict monitor ACLED said Ethiopia had used drone strikes against Eritrean forces, which then withdrew from positions near the city. A resident said explosions continued into Friday several kilometres outside the town.

Celebrations were reported in the city as pro-government troops appeared on the streets. "Adigrat is free!" the Tigray Peace Forces, a militia allied to the government, posted on social media.

Competing claims

Ethiopia told members of the UN Security Council this week that Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60km into Tigray in recent days, warning that the presence of foreign forces left it with "no option but to defend itself".

Eritrea says reports of an incursion are false and part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression. Its Information Minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, said on Friday that Eritrea had shown restraint, and accused Ethiopia of declaring war on his country by stating in 2023 that it would acquire sovereign access to the sea.

The sea access dispute

Ethiopia had a coastline for decades until Eritrea won independence in 1993. Addis Ababa says regaining access to the sea is an existential issue, but has said it would pursue it through peace and dialogue. Eritrea's ports at Assab and Massawa sit on the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

A dangerous moment

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance that has been fighting government troops in Tigray, Amhara and Afar since 23 September. Eritrea denies it. The fighting is the biggest escalation of violence since the 2020 to 2022 Tigray war, in which hundreds of thousands died.

The two countries made peace in 2018, a deal that earned Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize, and Eritrea fought on the government's side in the last Tigray war before relations soured. The incursion, and Ethiopia's response, have raised fears of a return to open war along the border where the two countries fought between 1998 and 2000.

The humanitarian picture

Tigray is still recovering from the last war, and aid agencies warn that renewed fighting threatens food supplies and health services for millions of people. Conflicts elsewhere in the region, including the war in Sudan, and tensions across the Red Sea, have raised the stakes further.