Eritrean troops move deep into Ethiopia's Tigray region as fighting escalates
Residents of Adigrat tell the BBC they have seen truck loads of soldiers from Eritrea moving south.
**Eritrean troops advance deep into Ethiopia’s Tigray region as fighting intensifies**
**Eritrean soldiers were involved in fighting in Tigray during the 2020-2022 conflict**
Eritrean troops have crossed into northern Ethiopia and are heading toward an area where clashes have been taking place between national army forces and regional fighters, residents in the Tigrayan town of Adigrat told the BBC.
The fighting in the region began two weeks ago after months of tension between the government and the party that governs Tigray, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Each side accuses the other of breaking a 2022 agreement that brought an end to a two-year civil war.
Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, an allegation Asmara has denied in the past.
The latest unrest comes after the formation in September of a new alliance of armed groups in Ethiopia, which includes the TPLF.
Over the weekend, TPLF forces pulled out of Tigray’s main city, Mekelle, which lies 115km (71 miles) south of Adigrat and is now under army control.
Eritrea was a major ally of landlocked Ethiopia during the 2020-2022 war, fighting the TPLF in one of the deadliest conflicts of this century and pushing the Tigray region to the brink of famine.
Since then, relations between the two neighbours have worsened, largely because of the Ethiopian prime minister’s desire to gain control of one of Eritrea’s Red Sea ports.
Last week, the two countries cut diplomatic ties as the renewed fighting raised concerns about a broader regional conflict.
The BBC cannot report from Tigray and nearby areas, although mobile phone service and internet access have been restored in most places since the military took control of Mekelle.
According to several accounts, Eritrean troops have moved from the border town of Zalambessa toward central Tigray, with convoys reportedly passing through Adigrat and continuing toward Edaga Hamus, a town between Adigrat and Mekelle.
“I saw about 40 trucks carrying soldiers. The convoy was moving south,” one Adigrat resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told BBC Tigrinya.
**Pro-government forces have control of Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region**
A second resident said troop movements were first seen at night: “We have been seeing trucks with Eritrean registration plates passing through the city.
“Now this morning we witnessed around 20 to 30 large trucks heading toward Edaga Hamus.”
He added that people he knew traveling along the route had seen more vehicles carrying heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, and said some troops were also moving on foot.
A source in Mekelle told the BBC that relatives in Adigrat described even larger troop movements, estimating that up to 60 trucks carrying soldiers were seen before they were later deployed in mountainous terrain near Edaga Hamus.
Images circulating on social media appear to show heavily loaded military trucks carrying uniformed personnel toward Adigrat, Edaga Hamus and possibly Wukro, another important town along the corridor between Adigrat and Mekelle. The BBC has not independently verified the images.
Sources in Wukro told the BBC that national army soldiers and TPLF fighters entered the town on Wednesday after an exchange of heavy weapons about 15km south of the town.
The BBC has not yet been able to independently verify any of the reported troop movements.
The reported return of Eritrean forces has caused alarm among many residents of Tigray, with some recalling atrocities allegedly committed by Eritrean soldiers during the recent civil war, when they fought against the TPLF.
One Adigrat resident said seeing Eritrean soldiers again was emotionally upsetting: “The memories are still fresh. I was emotional myself. People are saddened to see them back again.”
A resident of Edaga Hamus also said Eritrean troops had passed through the town and reported drone strikes nearby, with soldiers targeted.
In a recent interview with private station Fana Television, senior Ethiopian government official Abraham Belay accused Eritrea of taking direct part in the conflict.
“The Eritrean army has participated with its full capacity and logistics,” he said.
“Many Eritrean soldiers have been killed and captured. There is no doubt that the retaliation will be double. They will see what it means to enter the border of another country and fight alongside bandits.”