U.S., EU warn of influx of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray

The United States and European Union are raising alarm over the recent deployment of troops from Eritrea to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where nine months of war have killed thousands of people and sparked a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Forces from Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray recaptured much of the territory in June, in a major setback for Ethiopia’s government. But the new Eritrean deployments, which come months after Ethiopia said foreign troops were pulling out, raise the prospect of an escalation of fighting.

“The United States is concerned that large numbers of (Eritrean Defence Forces) have re-entered Ethiopia, after withdrawing in June,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement on Monday.

Those remarks came as Treasury Department announced sanctions against a leading Eritrean official it accused of human rights abuses during the war in Tigray. Eritrea said the allegations are baseless.