Ethiopia army chief accuses Eritrea of backing armed groups amid northern fighting

September 27, 2026 at 09:59 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Ethiopia's army chief accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups to weaken Ethiopia, as fighting spread from Tigray into Afar and Amhara. The military said it was responding with restraint to provocations from the Tigray front. Eritrea denied the accusations.

Key Facts

Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups to weaken Ethiopia.
The army said it killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded 260 in a counter-offensive in North Wollo, Amhara region.
Seven armed groups announced an alliance, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, committed to removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Internet access was reportedly cut across northern Ethiopia on Friday, a day after the UN said it was alarmed by reports of drones being used against civilians.

Eritrea Accusation

Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups to weaken Ethiopia. He described the “Tsimdo” alliance as an extension of a longstanding pattern of hostile alliances that cannot confront the state without outside backing. Eritrea, wary that landlocked Ethiopia may be seeking to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea, denied the accusations.

Fighting Spreads

The fighting has spread from Tigray into neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions after seven armed groups announced an alliance committed to removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. In Afar, the latest battles have taken place around Abala, where the military has been trying to prevent rebels from seizing control. In North Wollo, a zone of Amhara bordering Tigray, the army said on Thursday it had killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded 260 in a counter-offensive. The TPLF’s Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised units and drones. Abdisalam Balema, a TPLF central committee member, told Al Jazeera the situation had become a “full war”.

Strategic Calm

The army command said it prefers a strategy of “strategic calm” over a large-scale military confrontation, arguing the Tigray front’s popular support is dwindling and its leadership divided. Internet access was reportedly cut across northern Ethiopia on Friday, a day after the UN said it was alarmed by reports of drones being used against civilians there. The renewed fighting has put the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended a brutal two-year civil war in Tigray, under severe strain. It comes weeks after Washington lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea tied to atrocities from the last war, saying the “national emergency … has expired”.