Eritrea denies troop incursion into Ethiopia’s Tigray

Eritrea denies troop incursion into Ethiopia’s Tigray

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Eritrea’s government denied on Tuesday an accusation by the leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray region that its troops had crossed the border in support of a federal government military offensive against the restive northern state.

“This is an internal conflict. We are not part of the conflict,” Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.

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Ethiopia’s Tigray leader says Eritrea sending troops over border

NAIROBI (Reuters) – The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray region accused Eritrea of sending soldiers over the border and attacking local forces after the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched an offensive against the region last week.

In a statement on local TV, Debretsion Gebremichael gave no evidence for what would be a major escalation of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and Reuters was unable to confirm it.

“Since yesterday, the army of (Eritrean leader) Isaias (Afwerki) have crossed the country’s boundary and invaded,” he said. “They were attacking via Humera using heavy arms.”

There was no immediate reaction from Eritrea’s government, though its foreign minister told Reuters at the weekend that none of its soldiers had crossed into Ethiopia.