Ethiopia-Eritrea: Addis Ababa denounces a "total invasion," Asmara accuses Abiy of targeting the port of Assab

Ethiopia and Eritrea mutually accused each other on October 9, 2026, of having triggered the war that is once again engulfing the northern Horn of Africa. In a letter dated October 8 and made public the following day, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos denounced a "total invasion" of his country's territory and invoked his nation's right to self-defense, reports Al Jazeera.

The letter, addressed to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and presented as a message to the United Nations Security Council, asserts that Eritrean troops have advanced up to 60 kilometers inside the Tigray region. Addis Ababa is demanding their withdrawal and accuses Asmara of supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which Eritrea denies.

Two irreconcilable narratives

On the Eritrean side, Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel responded on X by referring to a war of aggression waged for more than three years by the Ethiopian government. He asserts that Asmara has shown restraint and accuses Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of seeking to seize the Eritrean port of Assab to provide his landlocked country with access to the Red Sea.

The military sequence has accelerated in just a few days. According to information gathered by Al Jazeera, the offensive launched in late September by the TPLF, a member of an alliance of seven armed groups hostile to Abiy Ahmed, was followed on October 1 by a diplomatic rupture: Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and expelled ten Eritrean diplomats, before Eritrea in turn severed its ties.

Federal forces recaptured Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, on October 4. On October 7, witnesses reported the presence of Eritrean soldiers in Adigrat, followed by Ethiopian drone strikes. During the week of October 8, witnesses cited by AFP indicated that the rebels had lost the towns of Shire and Adigrat, while federal police were patrolling in Mekelle.

A three-decade rivalry

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, followed by a two-year border war that began in 1998. The rise to power of Abiy Ahmed in 2018 had briefly brought the two capitals closer, to the point that Asmara fought alongside Addis Ababa against the TPLF from 2020 to 2022. However, Eritrea was not a party to the peace agreement that ended that conflict, and the relationship has deteriorated since.

No human toll has been communicated at this stage by either government. The fate of millions of Tigrayans, already tested by the 2020-2022 war, depends on the ability of African institutions and the Security Council to impose a de-escalation between two armies that each claim to be the victim of aggression.