Why Eritrea Won’t Leave Ethiopia
When U.S. Sen. Chris Coons visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in March, the United States’ top demand was that Abiy should order the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the Tigray region. After four months of denials that the Eritreans were inside Ethiopia, Abiy belatedly acknowledged their presence and promised to request their withdrawal.
It’s not going to happen. Numerous reports indicate that the Eritrean troops have committed atrocities in Tigray and that this violence continued after Coons met Abiy. As late as mid-April, heavy fighting was happening on three fronts in central Tigray involving dozens of Eritrean divisions, and Eritrean troops have reportedly been rebadged with Ethiopian military uniforms to disguise their identities.
Despite the Ethiopian government’s attempt to block any information from the region, international human rights organizations have scrupulously documented mass killings, rape, and wanton destruction and pillaging of villages, industries, clinics, schools, government offices, and banks.
Abiy has, it appears, invited Eritrean dictator Isaias Afwerki to wreak mayhem on
