Eritrean Soldiers Seen in Northern Ethiopia as Ties With Addis Ababa Break

At least two witnesses told Reuters they saw dozens of Eritrean soldiers drive through Adigrat in northern Ethiopia in two trucks on October 7, 2026. Reuters

Adigrat is 25km south of the Eritrean border. The witnesses said they identified the soldiers by their off-white camouflage uniforms. Reuters said it could not independently verify the accounts. Al Jazeera

Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the Tigray Peace Force, a pro-government militia that fights with Ethiopia's federal army, said Eritrea's army had entered Tigray in uniform with heavy weaponry. Witnesses and experts told Reuters the same account of the October 7 drive. Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Meskel did not deny a crossing. He said Ethiopia's government was creating a fallacious narrative of self-defense to rationalise and camouflage its war of aggression.

The reported movement follows a break in diplomatic relations. Eritrea severed all ties after Ethiopia announced it would close its embassy in Asmara and expel 10 Eritrean diplomats. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of backing the armed alliance fighting to remove the government. All three have denied involvement.

Fighting renewed on September 23, 2026 between Ethiopian forces and a seven-group alliance including the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Ethiopian forces and allies advanced quickly into Tigray since combat erupted the previous week, as reported on October 2, 2026. They captured the regional capital Mekelle in October 2026 after the TPLF withdrew and moved its administration temporarily elsewhere.

Reuters reported on October 5, 2026 that airstrikes and artillery hit northern Ethiopia amid fighting between government forces and rebels. Reuters Those strikes killed at least 17 people, according to Reuters reporting in October 2026.

Eritrean forces have been reported inside Tigray several times since 2021. Ethiopia's prime minister said in March 2021 Eritrea had agreed to withdraw, and Ethiopia said in April 2021 withdrawal had started. The United States, Germany, France and other G7 countries, a group of major advanced economies, called for unconditional withdrawal, meaning with no conditions attached. Eritrean soldiers were reported leaving major towns in December 2022 after a truce, a temporary halt to fighting, between rebels and the government. A later Amnesty report said Eritrean soldiers extrajudicially executed civilians and sexually enslaved women for months. Eritrea said in August 2026 it rejects unfounded allegations and refuses to serve as a scapegoat for Ethiopia's unresolved domestic crises.

The broader context here is two conflicts running together. One is internal, between Addis Ababa and an alliance that includes the TPLF. The other is between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Claims about uniformed Eritrean columns near Adigrat sit where those conflicts meet, like two tracks joining at one station. Asmara did not deny it. Verification is thin. That combination lets competing stories harden while facts stay contested.

Looking at what this means for escalation management, confirmation would matter more than allegation. A verified crossing would raise questions of sovereignty, a state's right to control its territory, command responsibility, who answers for troops' actions, interoperability, how federal and Tigray Peace Force units operate together, and civilian protection where airstrikes and artillery have already hit. Without verification, costs remain. Suspicion lingers after the embassy closures and expulsions and third-party mediation gets harder. The practical needs are imagery of convoys, consistent checks of uniforms and heavy weaponry, casualty counts after Mekelle's fall, and monitoring of supply routes south of the border.