Eritrea categorically dismisses claims its troops are operating inside Ethiopia

ASMARA, October 21 — Eritrea has issued a categorical statement that its armed forces are entirely within its own borders, directly confronting allegations of an Eritrean invasion that have circulated through international reporting and Ethiopian government statements during the fighting in Tigray.

“The Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) remains stationed entirely within the internationally recognized borders of the State of Eritrea,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states in Eritrea’s Principled Position Regarding the Ongoing Situation with Ethiopia.

The wording leaves no ambiguity about the government’s position. The ministry rejects invasion accusations as fabricated and describes them as a coordinated information campaign intended to divert international attention from Ethiopia’s territorial ambitions against Eritrea. It also states that Eritrea claims no sovereign Ethiopian territory.

The declaration directly challenges the evidentiary basis of the invasion narrative. An October 9 review by Critical Threats identified overlapping sourcing among major outlets and conflict monitors. Its examination of circulating photographs and videos established locations but could not determine their exact recording dates or whether the forces depicted were Eritrean. Repetition across publications did not resolve those identification gaps.

Historical imagery also accompanied the coverage. The BBC’s October 7 report used a photograph explicitly captioned as belonging to the 2020–2022 conflict. That photograph documents an earlier war; it supplies no evidence of a new deployment. The BBC acknowledged that it could not independently verify the reported troop movements.

Eritrea’s statement addresses allegations of a continuing military presence after the Pretoria agreement as well. The ministry says those allegations concern sovereign Eritrean areas recognised by the April 2002 boundary award. It describes EDF’s posture as defensive while affirming Eritrea’s readiness to defend its territory.

The ministry’s demand extends beyond rebutting troop allegations: international actors must confront threats against Eritrean sovereignty. It rejects generic appeals to “both sides” that obscure responsibility and says preventing war requires Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party to end its hostile policies.