Ethiopia: MP accuses Eritrean troops of occupying Ethiopian territory

Ethiopian Parliamentarian and former spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dina Mufti, has accused the Eritrean troops of occupying areas within the territory of Ethiopia.

While calling the Eritrean government to pull its troops from many border areas of the Ethiopian territory, Mufti told local media on Thursday that the international community must put pressure on Eritrea to withdraw its troops from the neighboring Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Mufti did not mention the border areas from which the Eritrean troops must withdraw.

The Eritrean troops took control of a number of border areas following the two-year bloody conflict between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The Eritrean troops participated in the conflict, allying with the Ethiopian government.

Mufti also accused President Isaias Afwerki of promoting what he called a “very dangerous” narrative of “Cushitic-Semitic antagonism” as part of what he described as a broader attempt to destabilize Ethiopia and realign political forces in the Horn of Africa.

In a commentary published on the state-affiliated Horn Review, reflecting on President Isaias’s recent speech during Eritrea’s 34^th Independence anniversary, Mufti alleged that the Eritrean leader “seems to have come up with this thesis” as a foundation for the “realignment of forces in the Horn.”

In addition to rhetorical interference, Mufti alleged that Eritrean troops are “currently found both in Sudan and Ethiopian territory,” and accused Isaias of offering “active material support to all sorts of subservient and armed groups” operating against the Ethiopian state.

“His continued violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of the Ethiopian state cannot be tolerated indefinitely,” he said.