Ethiopia said it must defend itself against an all-out invasion by Eritrean troops this week. Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos said Eritrean forces deployed 60 km into northern Ethiopia. The government called the presence of these troops a blatant act of aggression. Witnesses also saw soldiers in the region this week.
In the government's first official statement on reported incursions by Eritrean troops this week that have raised fears of outright war between the Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos said that the Eritrean forces had deployed up to 60 km (37 miles) into northern Ethiopia.
Sign up here.
The letter was shared with Reuters by a senior Ethiopian government official.
Eritrea’s information minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. On Wednesday he called reports of an Eritrean incursion part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression against his country.
Ethiopia's letter called the presence of Eritrean troops on its soil "a blatant act of aggression that engages Ethiopia's inherent right to self-defence."
"Taking its belligerence and intransigence to a whole new level, the Eritrean government has deployed its troops, including mechanized units, deep into Ethiopian territory," the letter said. "The all-out invasion of parts of northern Ethiopia by Eritrea is a matter of public record."
Eritrean soldiers were seen in northern Ethiopia this week, witnesses told Reuters, days after the neighbours severed diplomatic ties.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of backing a rebel alliance battling federal government troops since September 23 in the northern regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar. Eritrea has denied this.