Eritrean Troops in “Disputed Territory Between the Two Countries,” PM Abiy

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told UN Chief that Eritrean Troops are only “in the disputed territory between the two countries”

PM Abiy Ahmed (photo :file/OPM)

Borkena

December 10, 2020 

There was a claim by US officials that Eritrea is involved in the war in North Ethiopia, as published by The Guardian earlier this week. The report is based on Reuters’ interview with “several unidentified diplomats in the region and a US official” after TPLF forces claimed that Eritrean troops are fighting alongside the Ethiopian Defense Force.  

The claims made to Reuters, which interviewed several unidentified diplomats in the region and a US official, follow mounting allegations by Tigrayan leaders that Eritrea, long a rival of Ethiopia, had joined with Ethiopian forces against a common enemy despite denials from both nations

Before the Ethiopian army controlled the entire Tigray region about a week ago, TPLF leaders, who are now said to be hiding in the wilderness, even claimed  that they had captured Eritrean troops.  Ethiopian government dismissed it as a pure lie. The narrative is that TPLF manufactured Eritrean army uniforms in one of its textile factories and dressed its army as Eritrean forces. 

The United nation does not seem to support the claim that Eritrean troops are involved in the war. The Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said Wednesday that there is no proof of Eritrean troops inside Ethiopia, where government forces are fighting rebels in the northernmost region of Tigray, as reported by Chinese news source Xinhua.

He told reporters : “We have no proof of the presence of Eritrean troops inside Ethiopia. I confronted the (Ethiopian) prime minister with that question, and he guaranteed to me that they have not entered the Tigrayan territory, that the only area where they are is the area that corresponded to the disputed territory between the two countries that in the peace agreement was decided to give back to Eritrea.”

The UN Chief shared two pieces of information about the situation in Ethiopia. Sporadic fighting was reported in different parts of Ethiopia. Also, it was reported that the United Nations   

It is reported that the United Nations has information about sporadic fighting in different parts of Ethiopia. Also, improvement in the security. However, the UN said “…these are information that I am not in a position to fully confirm.” 

The Ethiopian government forces have controlled Mekelle about a week ago. While some TPLF leaders have surrendered, the government is yet to disclose about the rest of the leaders. 

Defense Chief of Staff Berhanu Jula said on Friday, during a ceremony organized to honor the sacrifices of the Defense Force, the defense force won the war in two weeks for which the TPLF forces were preparing for two years. 

Commander of the Northern Command and 1000 other senior military officers were reportedly rescued this week in what was said to be the last operation against TPLF forces. 

It has been well over a week now since TPLF leaders appeared on the media to update their sympathizers. While some skeptics tend to believe that TPLF leaders might have crossed the border to Sudan, other Ethiopian activists claim that some are killed and others are wounded, and captured.