Eritrea calls for UN action amid heightened conflict with Ethiopia

Eritrea has called on the United Nations to implement deterrent measures following what it declared was a declaration of war by Ethiopia, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. The request comes as both neighboring countries blame each other for initiating conflict amid growing tensions and fears of a broader war. [1]

The demand by Asmara followed a letter sent to the Security Council by Ethiopia, in which Addis Ababa accused Eritrea of launching an all-out invasion, Al Jazeera reported. According to Al Jazeera, Ethiopia stated that Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60 kilometres, or 37 miles, into the Tigray region. [1]

Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh responded in a separate letter to the Security Council on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera. Saleh said that the allegations of an Eritrean troop incursion were part of a broader Ethiopian plan. [1]

The Tigray region was previously the site of an armed civil war from November 2020 to November 2022. That conflict was fought between forces allied with the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea against the Tigray People's Liberation Front. [8]