An abandoned Eritrean army tank Southwest of Mekelle, in the Tigray region, Ethiopia, June 20, 2021. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP
Three years after a conflict that claimed nearly 600,000 lives in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, the rebel region, the government in Addis Ababa and Eritrea are once again on the brink of war. In January, Ethiopian federal army drones targeted positions held by Tigrayan forces. Since then, Addis Ababa has mobilized troops and artillery near the province. Air links to Tigray were temporarily suspended at the start of the year, and several international journalists were arrested and prevented from traveling there.
In early February, Addis Ababa also demanded that Eritrea "immediately withdraw its troops from Ethiopian territory and cease all forms of collaboration with rebel groups." Asmara, which fought alongside the Ethiopian federal army during the Tigray war from 2020 to 2022, has recently drawn closer to the Tigrayan insurgents – a dramatic reversal of alliances.
A historic rivalry centered on Tigray
The relationship between Addis Ababa and Asmara has shifted constantly since the end of World War II, swinging between cold rivalry and open conflict. In 1960, after the period of Italian colonization, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I. Control tightened further under the Derg, the Ethiopian junta led by Mengistu Haile Mariam who overthrew the emperor in 1974, launching a violent campaign of oppression known as the "Red Terror."
