Fresh satellite footage of one of the world’s most isolated countries shows a military buildup inside Eritrea along the border with Ethiopia’s northern Tigray area, correlating with witness reports of a new, large-scale operation.
Eritrea has fought against Tigrayan armies alongside Ethiopia. It denies accusations that its forces perpetrated some of the most heinous atrocities during the fight, which began in late 2020. Witnesses in Eritrea this month told The Associated Press that people, including students and government employees, are being picked up and sent to fight in the current offensive.
Maxar Technologies’ satellite imagery shows combat tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and an M-46 field artillery battery in the Eritrean town of Serha, close the border, on September 19. The village is located over the border from Zalambessa, a Tigray town that was one of the first to be overrun by the war. Eritrea is one of the world’s most restricted countries to independent journalists, and photos of the Ethiopian conflict from there are scarce.
Last week, Tigray forces accused Eritrea of starting a full-scale offensive along the border, in what appeared to be an intensification of hostilities that had resumed in August following months of relative calm.
Other satellite imagery acquired and published by Maxar on Monday shows military deployment in the Tigray village of Sheraro, which a humanitarian worker told the AP earlier this month was targeted by lethal shelling, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee. For fear of punishment, the worker, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Last week, the US ambassador to the Horn of Africa, who has been urging the Ethiopian and Tigray sides to stop fighting and start peace negotiations, informed reporters that Washington has been watching Eritrean troop movements across the border.
“They are deeply disturbing, and we condemn them,” Mike Hammer said. “All external foreign parties must respect Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and refrain from escalating the crisis.”
Despite Ethiopia and Eritrea establishing ties in 2018 following a violent border conflict, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, the country’s lone leader since independence three decades ago, remains a nemesis of Tigray authorities. Tigray authorities have reacted angrily to an African Union special envoy’s request that Eritrea participates in peace talks to end the ongoing war.
The Tigray war is claimed to have killed tens of thousands of people and left millions without essential amenities such as phones, electricity, and banking for more than a year. The region is closed to independent media and human rights researchers.
