Eritrea has begun sending troops into the Ethiopian province of Tigray, where the separatists of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which it supports, operate. They are located 115 kilometers north of Mekele, the provincial capital.
“The Eritrean army entered Tigray in military uniform, with heavy weapons. It is being attacked by UAVs. The purpose of Eritrea’s actions is to ensure that the fighting does not spread to its territory,” said the commander of the Tigray Peacekeeping Force, loyal to the Ethiopian authorities, Gebregsanger Beyene.
In recent weeks, Ethiopian government forces have won a series of victories over the separatists, capturing Mekele and continuing to advance north.
Ethiopia’s offensive is of particular concern to Eritrea, which declared independence from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without access to the sea. For many years it has been using the separatists as proxies to stop possible expansion.