Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has publicly accused Eritrean forces of committing atrocities during the two-year Tigray war, which ended in 2022. In a parliamentary address, Abiy admitted that Eritrean troops massacred civilians in Aksum, marking the first official acknowledgement of their role in the killings.
The Tigray conflict involved Eritrean forces fighting alongside Ethiopia’s federal army against Tigrayan fighters. Abiy said Eritrean troops also destroyed homes, looted property, and demolished industries in cities including Adwa, Aksum, Adigrat, and Shire. He added that envoys were sent to Eritrea during the war to halt the killings and destruction.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, once stabilised after Abiy won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, have since deteriorated, with recent tensions over Red Sea access and changing alliances in Tigray raising fears of renewed fighting. The African Union mediated a peace deal between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in 2022, which Eritrea did not sign.
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Passenger flights between Addis Ababa and Tigray cities resumed on Tuesday after a five-day suspension caused by clashes between the federal army and Tigray forces. Estimates suggest up to 600,000 people were killed during the Tigray war, which remains a source of regional instability.
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