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Eritrean soldiers have crossed into northern Ethiopia heading towards an area where clashes have been taking place between national army troops and regional forces, residents in the Tigrayan town of Adigrat have told the BBC.

Fighting in the region broke out two weeks ago after months of tension between the government and the party that controls Tigray, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Both blame one another for violating a 2022 deal that ended a two-year civil war.

Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of backing the TPLF - something Asmara has previously denied.

The latest unrest follows the launch in September of new alliance of armed groups in Ethiopia, which includes the TPLF.

Over the weekend, TPLF forces withdrew from Tigray's main city of Mekelle, which is 115km (71 miles) south of Adigrat and is now under army control.

Eritrea was a key ally of landlocked Ethiopia during the 2020-2022 war, fighting against the TPLF in what was one of the most deadly conflicts this century and which drove the Tigray region to the precipice of famine.

But relations between the two neighbours have since deteriorated largely over the Ethiopian prime minister's ambition to take ownership of one of Eritrea's Red Sea ports.

Last week the two countries severed diplomatic relations as the renewed fighting raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas, though mobile phone connections and internet access have been restored to most areas since the military took over Mekelle.

According to multiple accounts, Eritrean troops have moved from the border town of Zalambessa towards central Tigray, with convoys reportedly passing through Adigrat and heading toward Edaga Hamus, a town between Adigrat and Mekelle.

"I saw about 40 trucks carrying soldiers. The convoy was moving south," one resident of Adigrat, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told BBC Tigrinya.

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A second resident reported seeing troop movements, initially at night: "We have been seeing trucks with Eritrean registration plates passing through the city.

"Now this morning we witnessed around 20 to 30 large trucks heading toward Edaga Hamus."

He added that acquaintances travelling along the route had seen additional vehicles carrying heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, and noted some troops were also moving on foot.

A source in Mekelle told the BBC that relatives in Adigrat described even larger troop movements, and estimated they saw up to 60 trucks carrying soldiers who were later deployed in mountainous terrain near Edaga Hamus.

Images circulating on social media appear to show heavily loaded military trucks carrying uniformed personnel towards Adigrat, Edaga Hamus and possibly Wukro, another key town along the corridor between Adigrat and Mekelle. The BBC has not independently verified the images.

Sources in Wukro told the BBC that national army soldiers and allied fighters had entered the town on Wednesday after an exchange of heavy weapons about 15km south of the town.

The BBC has not yet been able to independently verify any of the reported troop movements.

The reported return of Eritrean forces has sparked anxiety among many of Tigray's residents, with some recalling the atrocities allegedly committed by soldiers from Eritrea during the recent civil war, when they fought against the TPLF.

One Adigrat resident said that seeing Eritrean soldiers again was emotionally distressing: "The memories are still fresh. I was emotional myself. People are saddened to see them back again."

A resident of Edaga Hamus also reported Eritrean troops passing through the town and said drone strikes had occurred nearby, with soldiers targeted.

In a recent interview with private station Fana Television, senior Ethiopian government official Abraham Belay accused Eritrea of direct participation in the conflict.

"The Eritrean army has participated with its full capacity and logistics," he said.

"Many Eritrean soldiers have been killed and captured. There is no doubt that the retaliation will be double. They will see what it means to enter the border of another country and fight alongside bandits."

 

SOURCE/AUTHOR : BBC NEWS/Yemane Nagish, BBC Tigrinya and Michael Teferi, BBC Africa