Ethiopian drone strikes on Eritrean forces reported in Tigray as fighting widens

Ethiopian drones struck Eritrean forces in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, according to conflict monitor ACLED and witness accounts reported on 8 October. The accounts place the strikes at different points near Adigrat and on the route toward Idaga Hamus. They come after Eritrean troops were reported crossing the border and the two governments severed diplomatic ties, raising concern that renewed fighting in Tigray could draw in both countries.

ACLED said drones targeted Eritrean troops travelling by vehicle at Guada on 7 October. A separate report carried by Euronews described multiple strikes around Adigrat overnight into Thursday, citing ACLED and witnesses. The available accounts do not establish whether these were the same strikes, how much damage was done or whether anyone was killed. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify ACLED’s account or a government-allied commander’s separate account of Eritrean troop movements.

Where were the drone strikes reported?

ACLED’s account places Eritrean troops on a route from the border crossing at Zalambessa toward Adigrat and Idaga Hamus. It says Ethiopian National Defense Force drones hit them at Guada as they moved toward Idaga Hamus. AP reported that account on Thursday and said ACLED had not answered its inquiry about the basis for the claims by Thursday morning. That leaves the monitor’s description an attributed account, rather than an independently verified location for the strike.

The Euronews account, drawing on AFP witness reporting, places overnight strikes around Adigrat and says Eritrean vehicles and ammunition were targeted. One witness described destroyed lorries; another reported seeing military vehicles that had been hit, while a third said Eritrean troops appeared to be retreating north. Those observations do not resolve the difference between the reported strike locations or establish where Eritrean forces subsequently went.

What is known about Eritrean troops in Tigray?

Gebreigziabher Beyene, a commander of the pro-government Tigray Peace Force, told AFP that Eritrean troops had entered Tigray with heavy weapons and were being struck by drones. His statement adds an account from a force involved in the fighting; it does not independently confirm the strikes. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel rejected what he described as Ethiopia’s false self-defence narrative, according to AFP. AP said he did not specifically address the movements or strikes described by ACLED.

Why the border crossing matters now

The reported movements follow renewed fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and a rebel alliance that includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. AFP dates the renewed fighting to 23 September. Ethiopian forces and allied fighters entered the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, at the weekend after the TPLF withdrew. The fighting has renewed fears for a region devastated by the 2020–2022 civil war, which ended under an agreement reached in November 2022.

The immediate consequences reach beyond the reported strike sites. AP said the Tigray Peace Force imposed an overnight curfew in Mekelle on Wednesday. Residents of Shire told AP that TPLF forces had withdrawn and shops were closed amid fears of looting. Shire has served as a refuge for people displaced by fighting and as a base for humanitarian aid operations. The reports do not establish what the latest troop movements mean for those operations.

The escalation also follows a sharp diplomatic rupture. Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara earlier this month, AFP reported; Eritrea then said it would sever diplomatic ties. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing the Tigrayan rebels. Eritrea rejects Ethiopia’s allegations and accuses its neighbour of seeking a pretext for military action. Neither government’s position resolves the reported locations, damage or casualties from the drone strikes.

The neighbours have fought each other before: Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and they fought a border war from 1998 to 2000. Eritrean forces later fought alongside Ethiopia’s federal government against the TPLF during the 2020–2022 war. Their present confrontation therefore marks a reversal in their recent military relationship. What can be established from the current reports is narrower: troops were reported across the border, drone strikes were reported in northern Tigray, and essential details of those strikes remain unverified.