Eritrea wants UN intervention in Ethiopia standoff

Eritrea has asked the UN to take ‘deterrent measures’ after what it called Ethiopia’s ‘declaration of war’ in the conflict over the Tigray region, reports Al Jazeera. Eritrea’s request comes a day after Addis Ababa, in a letter to the Security Council, accused Asmara of launching an ‘all-out invasion’, saying Eritrean troops had advanced up to 60km into Ethiopia’s Tigray. In a separate letter to the council on Saturday, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh said the claims of an Eritrean incursion were part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression and urged the UN to intervene, invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows measures from sanctions to military action. The neighbouring countries have accused each other of starting a war over Tigray, where Ethiopia says Eritrea is backing rebels. An alliance of seven armed groups launched attacks against federal Ethiopian forces in the northern region last month, as they attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Government. Eritrean forces have since reportedly intruded into Ethiopian territory, with Addis Ababa accusing Asmara of backing the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The Ethiopian army pushed TPLF rebels back last week and seized the region’s capital, Mekelle. It also said it launched drone strikes against Eritrean troops in the region. Abiy reiterated yesterday that Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and they fought a deadly border war from 1998 to 2000. Relations improved after Abiy came to power in 2018, but have soured again in recent years.

Full Al Jazeera report