Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos claims Eritrean troops crossed into Ethiopian territory, while Asmara dismisses the accusation as a pretext for conflict
Borkena Desk
TORONTO, Canada — Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written a letter to the UN Security Council regarding an alleged Eritrean invasion of Ethiopian territory in the Tigray region.
Gedion Timotheos, the Minister, claimed that “Eritrean troops crossed the border to Ethiopia and that Ethiopia has no option but to defend itself.”
The letter followed reports from several media outlets citing residents who stated that multiple trucks carrying Eritrean troops were seen in Adigrat. Critics within the Ethiopian opposition, particularly in the Diaspora, note that Eritrean troops have been in the Tigray region since being invited by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the 2020–2022 war against TPLF forces.
Eritrea maintains that the Ethiopian accusation is a “pretext” to invade its territory. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has repeatedly asserted that Ethiopia requires access to the Red Sea for security and economic reasons. Government officials, including the Prime Minister and select military leaders, have signaled the possibility of a military conflict with Eritrea over sea access—particularly regarding Assab, located about 60 kilometers from the Ethiopian border—should diplomatic efforts fail. Eritrea maintains that Assab is its sovereign territory.
In his letter to the UN Security Council, Gedion Timotheos cited “Eritrea’s repeated acts of provocation and incursions across the border” and urged the Council to give the matter due attention, according to a BBC Amharic report.
Furthermore, he stated that Eritrea has escalated its aggression against Ethiopia, claiming the neighboring state has deployed mechanized army units deep into the Tigray region.
He emphasized that Ethiopia is left with no option except defending itself against what he described as “aggression.”
Meanwhile, sources in Tigray report that the Ethiopian Defense Force carried out drone strikes targeting trucks carrying Eritrean troops in the Adigrat area on Thursday. Eritrean forces reportedly suffered severe losses, though the reports remain independently unverified. Eritrea has not commented on the incident or confirmed the presence of its forces in Ethiopian territory.
The Ethiopian Defense Force has assumed control of several cities in the region, largely without facing serious military resistance. However, the Defense Force declined to share updates regarding the status of its military operations in Tigray and recent developments.
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1). Restore Ethiopia’s Red Sea Coast [ERSC] to Pre-1991: The Pre-1991 ERSC stretched from Adulis to Djibouti. Adulis is south of Massawa, north of Mersa Fatuma, and south-west of the Dahlak Archipelago. The Asèb Port is just a speck on the miles long ERSC.
2). ERSC | Affar Sultanate | Asèb Sold [1869/1882]: ERSC was a Sultanate administered by Affar Sultans. In 1869, local Sultans sold Asèb to Italy’s Società Rubattino [SR]. In 1882, the Italian Government took over SR and Asèb became Italian Colony.
3). Ethiopia’s Bahirè-Nègash [B-N] | Massawa Annexation [1885]: From Asèb, Italy kept expanding north, annexed the Red Sea coast, and took over Massawa in 1885. All that is left to form Italian Eritrea was annexing B-N [Hämässèn, Seraye, Akale-Guzaye].
4). Battle of Dogali [1887] | Emperor Menelik [1889-1913] | Treaty of Wuchale [1889]: Italy also annexed B-N as Ras Alula retreated to regroup & ambush Italy’s Army at the Battle of Dogali. Also, Menelik-II relinquished ERSC to Italy at the Treaty of Wuchalé.
5). B-N Doomed [1889] | Italian Eritrea Born [1890]: By 1889, Italy had already annexed B-N. In 1890, Italy merged ERSC/Massawa/B-N and baptized them Italian Eritrea.
6). Emperor Haile-Selassie [EHS] | End of WW-II | Eritrea-Ethiopia Federation [1952]: Eritrea’s federation restored Ethiopia’s land snatched by Italy inch-by-inch from 1869 to 1890. In 1962, EHS restored Ethiopia’s territorial integrity by making Eritrea a province.
7). ELF [1960] | EPLF [1970] | OLF-IFLO [1973] | TPLF [1975] | ONLF [1984]: Egypt went on a Liberation Front Launching Spree to destabilize, bankrupt, and rule Ethiopia via proxies to be The Master of the Nile. Egypt hit the jackpot when the EPLF-TPLF Duo invaded-and-occupied Ethiopia in 1991 and landlocked Ethiopia for the first time!