Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to be moving closer to direct military confrontation after Ethiopian drones reportedly struck Eritrean troops and military vehicles in northern Tigray, days after the two neighbours severed diplomatic ties.
The reported strikes around Adigrat and Idaga Hamus mark a significant escalation in a relationship that had once seen Eritrean forces fight alongside Ethiopia during the 2020–2022 Tigray conflict.
According to conflict monitor ACLED, Ethiopian military drones targeted Eritrean troops and ammunition loaded on military vehicles on Wednesday night and early Thursday in the Adigrat area. Witnesses also reported explosions and damaged military vehicles, while some Eritrean troops were reportedly seen moving north.
The development has raised concerns that the renewed fighting in Tigray could move beyond Ethiopia’s internal conflict and become a wider confrontation involving the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
Eritrean troops reportedly crossed into northern Ethiopia through the Zalambessa border area before moving towards the Adigrat-Idaga Hamus route. ACLED said Ethiopian forces subsequently targeted them with drones. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the reported troop movements or strikes.
The reported confrontation comes against the backdrop of rapidly deteriorating relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara. Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara last week, prompting Eritrea to announce that it was severing diplomatic ties.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front-led opposition alliance, while Asmara has rejected the accusations and accused Ethiopia of constructing a justification for military action against Eritrea. Neither government has independently confirmed the reported drone strikes.
The latest developments are particularly significant because Eritrea previously fought on Ethiopia’s side during the Tigray war before relations between the former allies deteriorated over the peace settlement and Ethiopia’s increasingly vocal demand for access to the Red Sea.
Renewed fighting erupted in Tigray after the TPLF joined six other opposition groups in an alliance seeking to challenge Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, threatening the 2022 peace agreement that ended the previous two-year war.
Government-allied forces have since regained control of Mekelle, the Tigray regional capital, while fighting has continued in other parts of the region. Eritrean troops have also reportedly been seen entering Adigrat and Idaga Hamus, further complicating the conflict.
The widening confrontation is already attracting concern beyond the two countries, given the Horn of Africa’s existing security pressures and the strategic importance of the Red Sea.
The United States has urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to exercise maximum restraint, warning of the consequences of another major conflict and humanitarian crisis in the region.
The immediate question now is whether the reported encounters in Tigray remain limited to military movements around the border or develop into a direct Ethiopia-Eritrea confrontation.
CNN reported the latest development as part of the renewed escalation in northern Ethiopia, while ACLED and witnesses provided accounts of the reported drone strikes.
