Drone strikes reportedly hit Eritrean forces in Ethiopia’s Tigray region

Ethiopian drone strikes reportedly hit Eritrean forces near Adigrat in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on Wednesday and Thursday, 7–8 October. Conflict monitor ACLED described strikes on vehicles carrying troops and equipment after Eritrean forces crossed the border. Witnesses also reported explosions and damaged military vehicles. The accounts raise concern that renewed fighting inside Ethiopia could draw in its neighbour, although neither government has confirmed the reported clash.

The accounts place the Eritrean movement and strikes amid fighting between Ethiopian government forces and a coalition led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF. Fighting has spread beyond Tigray into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions, according to the Guardian. The reported border crossing matters because Ethiopia and Eritrea fought on the same side during the previous Tigray war, but their relations have since deteriorated sharply.

What ACLED and witnesses reported near Adigrat

ACLED’s account says Eritrean forces crossed into Tigray through Zelambesa on 7 October and travelled along the Adigrat–Idaga Hamus route. It said Ethiopian federal forces targeted vehicles at Guada with drones as the troops headed towards Idaga Hamus. In its account for 8 October, the monitor said Eritrean forces were reportedly withdrawing from Adigrat overnight when strikes believed to have been launched by Ethiopia’s National Defence Force hit vehicles carrying personnel and equipment. It reported heavy explosions continuing into the morning.

Euronews, citing ACLED, reported multiple strikes against Eritrean troops and ammunition in the Adigrat area overnight. Witnesses interviewed by AFP described an explosion, vehicles apparently hit by a drone and troops who appeared to be retreating north. One witness said some Eritrean lorries had been destroyed. Those accounts describe what the witnesses said they heard or saw; the available reports establish no verified casualty count or full assessment of damage.

What Ethiopia and Eritrea have said

Neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea responded to Euronews’s questions about the reported fighting. Eritrean information minister Yemane Gebremeskel told AP, ‘We are not in the business of refuting wild allegations or narratives.’ AP said he did not explicitly confirm or deny that Eritrean troops had crossed into Ethiopia. The absence of confirmation from the two governments leaves the reported troop movements and strikes dependent on the monitor’s account and witness testimony.

Eritrea’s information minister has also accused Ethiopia of ‘incessantly beating the drums of war’ and of fabricating claims to present a future war as self-defence, the Guardian reported. Those are Eritrea’s allegations. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the country was ready to defend its sovereignty and urged regional actors to use dialogue and good-neighbourly relations. The statements show the depth of the dispute; neither establishes what happened around Adigrat.

Why relations between the neighbours have deteriorated

Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara the previous week, while Eritrea announced that it was severing diplomatic ties, AP reported. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of supporting the TPLF; Eritrea denies that allegation. Each government has also accused the other of threatening its security. The diplomatic rupture preceded the reported crossing and strikes, adding to concern about a broader confrontation.

The two countries fought a border war from 1998 to 2000. Their relations improved after Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, and Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia in the 2020–2022 war against the TPLF, Euronews reported. Ethiopia became landlocked when Eritrea gained independence in 1993. AP reported that Abiy reiterated on Monday that Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea, another point of contention between the neighbours.

Civilian impact and unanswered questions

The renewed fighting is affecting communities beyond the area of the reported strikes. AP reported that residents said TPLF forces withdrew from Shire on Wednesday. The town had served as a refuge for people displaced by fighting and as a base for humanitarian aid. One resident told AP that shops had closed and merchandise was moved because of fears of looting. Those reports illustrate the immediate disruption facing civilians, without establishing the wider humanitarian toll of this round of fighting.

It remains unclear how many Eritrean troops entered Tigray, how far they moved, whether any people were killed or injured in the reported strikes, and what damage was caused. AP’s inability to verify the accounts independently and the governments’ lack of confirmation are material limits on what can be said. For now, ACLED’s accounts and the witnesses’ observations support reporting that strikes occurred near Adigrat, while their full consequences remain unknown.