Ethiopia-Eritrea Clashes Near Badme Spark War Fears
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MENAFNTwo diplomats familiar with intelligence assessments told the Ethiopian news outlet that clashes have escalated over several days. Ethiopian forces are reportedly using drones, while Eritrean troops are relying on heavy artillery.
“We are aware of drone strikes, particularly from the Ethiopian side, and the use of heavy artillery from the Eritrean side, and we are monitoring the situation,” one diplomatic source said.
A second source cautioned that the exchanges could spiral into a major military confrontation between the neighboring states.
“The biggest shared concern among the international community is that this will be sliding into a full-blown military conflict, the outcome of which neither party has yet to fully comprehend,” the source said.
Badme lies about 800 kilometers (497 miles) north of Addis Ababa and 130 kilometers (81 miles) southwest of Asmara. It was the flashpoint of the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea border war, which killed tens of thousands of people.
Residents described nighttime explosions, shuttered businesses and families fleeing as Ethiopian federal troops bolstered their presence around the town.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) said on Nov. 13 that Ethiopian federal troops were deployed between Sheraro and Badme, while Eritrean forces were posted near the town’s perimeter. According to the group, neither army holds Badme. It also recorded Ethiopian artillery fire toward areas near Badme and fresh fighting between federal troops and Tigrayan fighters.
The Critical Threats Project (CTP), another conflict monitor, noted in a Nov. 10 assessment that military buildups and clashes had occurred near Badme, but said it could not establish on which side of the border the fighting took place.
The escalation follows Ethiopian military advances toward the frontier, including the seizure of Sheraro on Nov. 3, according to conflict monitors.
Ties between Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated sharply amid mutual accusations of backing armed groups and disputes over Addis Ababa’s ambitions for Red Sea access.
After their Nov. 9-10 meeting in Paris, G7 foreign ministers voiced “great concern” over the worsening security situation and urged both countries to “exercise maximum restraint, pursue diplomatic solutions.”
The renewed confrontation threatens to deepen instability across the Horn of Africa, where fighting in northern Ethiopia has already displaced civilians and disrupted humanitarian aid.
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