Tigray Peace Force Accuses Eritrean Troops of Joining North Ethiopia Fighting; Asmara Denies

A commander of the 'Tigray Peace Force' (also known as Hara Meret), Colonel Berhe Baraki, has accused Eritrean troops of directly participating alongside Ethiopian federal forces and Afar militias in the renewed heavy fighting along the border regions of Tigray, Amhara, and Afar. Colonel Berhe claimed that Eritrean mechanized and infantry forces are engaged on the Afar front around Erebti and Aba'ala against Tigrayan forces. He further reported that joint forces are advancing on multiple fronts, including toward Mekoni, Samre, and Shire. Conversely, the Eritrean Ministry of Information, through Minister Yemane Gebremeskel, strongly denied the allegations, calling them standard excuses by the ruling Prosperity Party to distract from Ethiopia's internal political and security crises. While Afar regional officials also accused Eritrean forces of crossing the border, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula of the Ethiopian National Defense Force mentioned battling forces supported by Egypt and Sudan without directly referencing specific foreign troop deployments.