Eritrea Says the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) Planning a Large-scale Invasion

May 18, 2022

Eritrea vows to defend its sovereignty in the face of TPLF’s new war 

Borkena 

Eritrea on Tuesday said the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is preparing for war. 

In an editorial statement issued in Tigrigna, the Ministry of Information of Eritrea said the TPLF is this time targeting Eritrea’s entire sovereign territory with the aim to subdue it. 

It also said that the TPLF plans to take control of the Wolkait and Humera areas, and open up access to Sudan. 

Destabilizing the entire Horn of Africa region is another aim that the TPLF is pursuing by way of launching a new war is also a goal that TPLF is pursuing, according to the Statement. 

The Eritrean government also noted that TPLF has been getting food, medicine, and gas in large quantities under the guise of humanitarian aid just before starting its war. 

Eritrea stressed that it has a legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and freedom.  

Soon after the TPLF attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defence Force in November 2020, it undertook rocket attacks against Eritrea but it did not last long as the TPLF was stripped of its capability to launch rocket attacks. 

Two cities in the Amhara region of Ethiopia were also targeted with rockets, Bahir Dar and Gondar. 

During a meeting with the European delegation about two weeks ago, Ethiopia announced that the TPLF has been engaged in massive military mobilisation including by way of forced conscription in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The TPLF however denied the accusation. 

In addition to Eritrea and the Federal government of Ethiopia, the Amhara region of Ethiopia issued a statement this week in which it said the TPLF is planning to invade the region again. It ordered the security forces in the region to be on standby. 

Following the Ethiopian government’s declaration of humanitarian truce, there has been a consistent flow of aid to the Tigray region. Hundreds of trucks that delivered aid to the region did not return. 

There is a speculation that they might have been diverted to aid TPLF’s war effort. 

A Reuters report this week seems to confirm that the TPLF is indeed engaged in forced conscription.