Ethiopia and Eritrea accuse each other of starting war

Ethiopia and Eritrea accused each other on Oct. 9, 2026, of launching a war, as Ethiopia told the UN Security Council that Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60 kilometres into its northern Tigray region and Eritrea called Ethiopia the aggressor.

The exchange raises the risk that a fight between Ethiopia’s army and Tigrayan forces, which began in late September, becomes a war between two states that fought each other from 1998 to 2000.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea of an “all-out invasion” in a letter to the UN Security Council dated Oct. 8 and shared with news agencies on Oct. 9, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP and Reuters. He demanded that Eritrean troops withdraw.

Eritrea rejected the claim. Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said on X that Ethiopia has pursued “an unprovoked war of aggression against Eritrea” for more than three years, according to Al Jazeera. He accused Addis Ababa of using the current conflict to try to seize Assab, an Eritrean port on the Red Sea.

Eritrea also denies Ethiopia’s claim that it backs the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF. The TPLF is part of an alliance of seven armed groups that Al Jazeera said has tried to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government since September.

Reports from the ground point to Eritrean soldiers inside Tigray, but the scale is unclear. Multiple sources told AFP that Eritrean troops were in Adigrat, about 115 km north of Mekelle, Africanews reported on Oct. 7. Two eyewitnesses described soldiers carrying heavy weapons on trucks.

Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the pro-government Tigray Peace Force, said the Eritrean army “has entered Tigray in uniform, equipped with heavy weaponry” and that “this force is being struck by drones.” Witnesses later told AFP that Ethiopian drone strikes hit Eritrean troops in Adigrat.

Al-Quds newspaper reported, citing unnamed security sources, that 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers had been deployed. That figure has not been confirmed by any government or by the other outlets reviewed.

Ethiopia’s army has pushed the TPLF back over the past week and taken Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital, Al Jazeera said. Africanews, citing AFP, reported that the TPLF abandoned the city and the army entered without a fight. An Adwa resident told AFP that weekend drone strikes hit hotels in the town, killing several civilians and wounding four. The claims by all sides about territory, troop numbers and casualties could not be independently verified.

Diplomatic ties have collapsed. Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave, and Eritrea responded by cutting all diplomatic ties, according to Al Jazeera and Africanews.

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. Relations improved sharply after Abiy took office in 2018, and Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia against the TPLF in the 2020-2022 civil war. Eritrea was not part of the 2022 peace deal that ended that war, and ties soured soon after. Abiy has repeatedly said landlocked Ethiopia has a right to sea access, which Eritrea sees as a threat to Assab.

Kjetil Tronvoll of Oslo New University College told AFP that “for Eritrea it is essential to maintain strategic depth and a buffer zone in northern Tigray.”

For Canadians, the Government of Canada’s travel advisory for Ethiopia tells travellers to avoid non-essential travel to the country and to avoid non-essential travel to Tigray, with the exception of the city of Mekele and its connecting corridors. It says to avoid all travel within 10 km of the Eritrean border. The advisory for Eritrea also says to avoid non-essential travel and all travel within 50 km of the Ethiopian and Sudanese borders. Neither page shows an update date.

Canada is home to a large Tigrayan community, which numbered nearly 32,000 people at the 2021 census, as we reported on Sept. 26.

It is not clear whether the Security Council will take up Ethiopia’s letter. This is a developing story, and Canada News Media will update it as confirmed information emerges.

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Via Al Jazeera (AFP and Reuters) and Africanews (AFP), with additional reporting from Al-Quds and the Government of Canada’s travel advisories.