Addis Ababa ( AMECO)- Eritrea is attempting to internationalise regional conflict by deploying armed proxies, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, an adviser to Ethiopia’s prime minister has said, according to Ethiopia News Agency.
Speaking to the broadcaster Pulse of Africa, in comments reported by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), Getachew Reda warned that Eritrea is actively trying to widen instability across the Horn of Africa by encouraging the deployment of young people beyond its borders.
Getachew, an adviser on East African affairs to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and former president of the Tigray interim regional administration, said reports of individuals being captured, killed, or wounded were deeply concerning.
Describing the alignment between Asmara and the defunct Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a ‘marriage of convenience’ between ‘strange bedfellows’, Getachew warned that despite setting aside past differences, the partnership remains a ‘prescription for disaster’.
He alleged that the TPLF had received ‘marching orders’ to provoke clashes with federal forces and establish links with armed groups in the Amhara region.
Getachew further accused Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki of coordinating with various anti-federal elements to keep Ethiopia unstable, claiming Asmara is receiving foreign backing. ‘President Isaias has support in this endeavour from the likes of Egypt. We know for a fact,’ he said.
Although Ethiopia has pursued a strategy of containment and exercised ‘maximum restraint’ amid recurring provocations, Getachew warned that further attacks by armed groups could transform a localized confrontation into a major regional war. He urged the international community to pressure Eritrea and other alleged spoilers to prevent renewed escalation.
