Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has publicly criticized Eritrean forces for committing mass killings and destruction during the Tigray conflict, marking a rare acknowledgment of their role in atrocities that shocked the region.
In parliament, Abiy confirmed that Eritrean troops had massacred civilians in Aksum, a historic city in northern Ethiopia, in November 2020—claims Eritrea had consistently denied.
The forces had fought alongside Ethiopia’s army against Tigrayan fighters in a war that lasted from 2020 to 2022 in the border region between the two countries.
The admission contrasts sharply with Abiy’s earlier statement on 30 November 2020, when he said "not a single civilian was killed" during operations in the area. Investigations by rights groups, including Amnesty International, and media outlets later revealed that hundreds of unarmed civilians—mainly men and boys—were killed during house-to-house raids in Aksum on 28 and 29 November 2020.
Abiy told lawmakers that Eritrean troops also looted property, demolished homes, destroyed industries, and seized machinery in towns such as Adwa, Aksum, Adigrat and Shire while allied forces gained control of the region. He added that he had sent envoys to Eritrea to ask its government to stop the killings and the destruction.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have often been tense. Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending a decades-long border dispute with Eritrea, and the countries appeared allied during the Tigray war.
However, disagreements over Red Sea access and recent accusations that Eritrea shifted allegiances in Tigray have fueled fears of renewed conflict.
Passenger flights between Addis Ababa and Tigrayan cities resumed on Tuesday after a five-day suspension caused by clashes between federal troops and Tigrayan fighters in western Tigray. The stoppage raised concerns about the fragile security situation in a region still recovering from the war.
The African Union brokered the Pretoria Agreement in November 2022 to formally end the conflict between Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Eritrea was not a signatory and opposed the deal, arguing that the TPLF should be fully defeated before any truce.
During the conflict, communication in Tigray was largely cut, and journalists were denied access. Witnesses later recounted the atrocities in Aksum, helping organizations piece together the events of November 2020. An AU envoy estimated that around 600,000 people lost their lives over the two-year war, highlighting the devastating human cost of the conflict.
