Eritrea

Ethiopia’s government and the party in control of the northern region of Tigray have accused each other of launching offensives, escalating fears of a return to full-scale conflict.

Getachew Reda, a cabinet minister and adviser to Ethiopia’s prime minister, said Tigrayan fighters had taken control of federally administered airports in Tigray and launched offensives in neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

Earlier, the Tigrayan authorities said their forces had been forced to enter a “defensive war”. The statement followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray.

The two-year war in Tigray ended in 2022 – but over recent months both sides have been accusing each other of violating a peace deal.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century – the African Union’s mediator estimated some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that runs Tigray, announced an alliance with six other armed groups in Ethiopia to remove the government in Addis Ababa.

“It is rather heartbreaking to learn that, despite efforts by many, including the international community, to avoid yet another round of war in Tigray, the TPLF leadership early this morning launched an all-out offensive against government positions in Afar and Amhara,” Getachew said in a statement shared on social media.

The adviser to Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed previously led Tigray’s interim administration, but he fell out with the TPLF in 2025 and joined the federal government.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

Residents of Tigray’s main city of Mekelle told the BBC that local forces had taken over control of the city’s airport from the national police early on Wednesday.

This followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray in recent days.

The chairperson of the Africa Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has called for an “immediate de-escalation” and for both sides to resume talks.

The US ambassador to Ethiopia condemned the TPLF for making “the poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive”, describing it as an “unwinnable fight”.

On Tuesday, a strike in the southern town of Alamata killed at least 14 people and injured 22 others, according to the Tigrayan authorities.

The town’s mayor, Mogos Shiferaw, told the BBC that more than five drones and one fighter jet had carried out more than 21 strikes starting at around 03:30.

“This caused a lot of psychological trauma in our city and our people were in a state of panic,” he said.

Mogos said all those killed and injured were civilians, accusing federal forces of targeting two secondary schools.

He believed they were struck on suspicion that they were being used by Tigrayan forces.

But the mayor said the schools, which had served as federal military bases during the civil war, were unoccupied as the academic year had not yet begun.

The BBC has not independently verified the allegations and the government has not commented on the alleged strikes.

On Wednesday, the Tigray authorities accused Addis Ababa of launching an “open invasion” of the region, urging people to support the regional forces and maintain unity.

It further accused the government of violating international humanitarian and human rights laws, saying public services and critical infrastructure had been disrupted.

Meanwhile, the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs has condemned a separate drone strike that it said took place on Monday, targeting a convoy of Catholic vehicles carrying food aid.

It called for an investigation and urged all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and take steps to prevent similar incidents.

Both Addis Ababa and TPLF leaders have faced criticism over delays in implementing key provisions of the Pretoria Agreement, the AU-brokered deal that formally ended the conflict in November 2022.

In July, Prime Minister Abiy accused the TPLF of preparing for renewed conflict during an address to parliament.

Just before the general election in May, which was not held in Tigray because of the security situation, the TPLF restored its pre-war administration, disbanding an interim one appointed by Abiy.

There have also been reports that the TPLF has been forcibly recruiting young men to join its forces.

A journalist detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 23 years has won a Swedish human rights prize for his commitment to freedom of expression.

Dawit Isaak, who holds dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, was given the Edelstam Prize “for his… exceptional courage”, the foundation behind the award said in a statement.

Dawit was one of the founders of Setit, Eritrea’s first independent newspaper.

He was detained in 2001 after his paper published letters demanding democratic reforms.

Dawit was among a group of about two dozen individuals, including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists, arrested in a government purge.

Over the years, the Eritrean government has provided no information on his whereabouts or health, and many who were jailed alongside him are presumed dead.

The Edelstam Prize, awarded for exceptional courage in defending human rights, will be presented on 19 November in Stockholm.

Dawit’s daughter, Betlehem Isaak, will accept the prize on his behalf as he remains imprisoned in Eritrea.

His work with the Setit included criticism of the government and calls for democratic reform and free expression, actions that led to his arrest in a crackdown on dissent.

The Edelstam Foundation has called for Dawit’s release, urging the Eritrean authorities to disclose his location and allow him legal representation.

“Dawit Isaak is the longest detained journalist in the world. We are very concerned about his health and his whereabouts are unknown, he is not charged with a crime, and he has been denied access to his family, consular assistance, and the right to legal counsel – effectively, it is an enforced disappearance,” said Caroline Edelstam, the chair of the Edelstam Prize jury.

His “indefatigable courage stands as a testament to the principle of freedom of expression.”

The Edelstam Foundation also urged the international community to pressure Eritrea for Dawit’s release and to advocate for human rights reforms.

The Edelstam Prize honours individuals who show exceptional bravery in defending human rights, in memory of Swedish diplomat Harald Edelstam.

Eritrea is the only African country without privately owned media, having shut down its private press in 2001 under the pretext of “national security”.

Dawit, who fled to Sweden in 1987 during Eritrea’s war for independence, returned after the country gained independence in 1993 after becoming a Swedish citizen.

There have been no elections in Eritrea since its independence, and President Isaias Afwerki has held power for nearly 31 years.

Il governo dell’Eritrea sostiene che le sue truppe ancora presenti in Etiopia occupino in realtà “territori sovrani eritrei”, tornando a rivendicare una porzione di territorio contesa con Addis Abeba ai sensi dell’accordo di Algeri del 2000. Lo riferisce “The Reporter Etiopia”, precisando che Asmara fa riferimento in particolare alla città frontaliera di Badem e ad altri territori contesi sulla punta più settentrionale dell’Etiopia, zone che il governo del presidente Isaias Afwerki rivendica come eritrei. “Le truppe eritree si trovano all’interno dei territori sovrani eritrei senza alcuna presenza nella terra sovrana etiope”, si legge in una dichiarazione pubblicata lo scorso 28 febbraio dall’ambasciata eritrea nel Regno Unito ed in Irlanda, nella quale si afferma che le aree di confine sono sotto il controllo delle truppe eritree sin dal conflitto del Tigrè, durato due anni e concluso a novembre del 2022. Si tratta, si legge ancora, di “territori sovrani eritrei che il Tplf (il Fronte di liberazione popolare del Tigrè) ha occupato illegalmente ed impunemente per due decenni”.

I termini dell’accordo di pace di Pretoria, che ha messo fine al conflitto tigrino, prevedevano il ritiro dal nord etiope delle forze alleate con il governo federale del premier Abiy Ahmed: fra queste le milizie regionali amhara, note come Fano; e le stesse truppe eritree, sebbene né le une né le altre fossero esplicitamente citate nel testo. È da questa assenza dell’Eritrea dalle trattative per l’accordo di pace, siglato a Pretoria il 2 novembre 2021, che il già precario equilibrio esistente fra Etiopia ed Eritrea dopo l’accordo di riconciliazione del 2018 si è sgretolato, portando le truppe eritree a mantenere le loro posizioni al confine ed impedendo agli abitanti di quelle zone di rientrare a casa dopo la fine del conflitto. Durante la guerra il governo etiope ha negato a lungo che le forze eritree fossero implicate nei combattimenti, nonostante ripetute denunce internazionali a questo proposito. I funzionari dell’amministrazione provvisoria del Tigrè e il suo presidente Getachew Reda denunciano da tempo al governo federale etiope quella che di fatto vivono come un’occupazione del loro territorio da parte delle forze eritree, che dopo la guerra non si sono mai ritirate oltre il confine.

Lo scorso 28 febbraio, nel suo intervento al Consiglio per i diritti umani delle Nazioni Unite il vicesegretario generale Onu per i diritti umani Ilze Brands Kehris ha dichiarato che il suo ufficio “ha informazioni credibili che la Forza di difesa eritrea (l’esercito) rimane nel Tigrè e continua a commettere violazioni transfrontaliere, vale a dire rapimenti, stupri, saccheggi di proprietà, arresti arbitrari e altre violazioni dell’integrità fisica”. Secondo l’amministrazione tigrina, peraltro, il 52 per cento delle terre della regione etiope non è ad oggi coltivabile proprio a causa della presenza delle forze eritree ed amhara, esponendo la zona ad un altissimo rischio di carestia. Come sottolineato a “Ethiopian Reporter” dal vice capo dell’Ufficio regionale dell’agricoltura del Tigrè, Adolom Berhan Harifyo, il governo federale etiope non ha pienamente attuato l’accordo di Pretoria e la maggior parte delle aree che producono alti rendimenti nella regione sono state catturate dalle forze eritree. L’effetto finale è che su una previsione di raccolto di circa 15 milioni di quintali di grano a metà dell’anno fiscale in corso è stato possibile ottenerne solo 5 milioni, ovvero il 33 per cento del totale. Nella regione tigrina ci sono complessivamente 1,3 milioni di ettari di terreno coltivabile, di cui 640mila sono stati coltivati. In tutto, nel Tigré è coltivabile il 48 per cento del territorio.

The rulers of Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray region refused to surrender to federal troops and instead claimed they were winning a war that has further destabilised the Horn of Africa.

“Tigray is now a hell to its enemies. The people of Tigray will never kneel”, they said in a statement on Wednesday.

Prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s government is also claiming major victories. The government said its forces are marching on Tigray’s capital Mekelle and will triumph shortly.

Abiy, 44, ordered air strikes and sent soldiers into Tigray on November 4 after accusing the local ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of revolt and an attack on a government base. The TPLF said civilians had been killed in the attacks, allegations the task force denied.