Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed sending troops to Eritrea amid Tigray conflict

ADDIS ABABA - A number of Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] troops are crossing over to neighboring Eritrea in readiness for an offensive in Tigray, a top official has claimed, even as the Horn of Africa nation struggles to break trace between the warring factions.

The war has entered the 22nd month despite calls for a ceasefire and there are indications that it might take a little more time before a lasting solution is reached. Both ENDF and Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] are claiming victory from all fronts.

Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of the suspended Tigray administration, insists that the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has lost grip, arguing that the national army was losing territory to TPLF, but he did not specify the towns which have been seized by the regional militia.

Sarcastically, the TPLF spokesperson wondered why Addis Ababa was dispatching more soldiers to Eritrea, wondering why the troops could not contain Ethiopia's borders. There are claims that Ethiopia is sending troops to Eritrea for "tips" on an invasion of the Tigray region.

"As the Abiy Regime’s forces are in disarray on many fronts and more and more territory lost in the last few days, the regime is sending more and more troops to Eritrea as if the ENDF has no business or capabilities to defend its positions within Ethiopia," he said.

"What Abiy’s move has made it abundantly clear is that Ethiopia’s national security and defense interests have been effectively outsourced to Isaias Afeworki, " added the TPLF spokesperson in reference to Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki.

Although the claims have been making rounds in both mainstream and social media, Garowe Online cannot independently verify that indeed Ethiopian soldiers are crossing over to Eritrea. However, there is empirical evidence linking Eritrean troops to atrocities in the Tigray region.

The international community has bet. piling pressure on Eritrea to pull out from Tigray, but the efforts seem to have stalled. Both the Eritrean army and the Amhara regional militia are fighting alongside ENDF, which has lately been struggling against the Tigray militia.

African Union Peace teams are trying to come up with terms of engagement between the two parties but the Ethiopian Air Force is said to have heightened airstrikes in Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, further hindering hopes of peace talks if any.

The Tigray team is also said to be making advances to both Amhara and Afar regions, which have been fighting alongside the national army. The war has reportedly left thousands of people dead and millions of others displaced as humanitarian teams struggle to reach victims of the war.

GAROWE ONLINE