Ethiopian forces reach Eritrean border as Tigrayan rebels retreat

The army reached Zalambessa, a town of about 15,000 people on the Ethiopian side of the border, but a spokesperson for a pro-government militia did not confirm that the army controls it. Fighting began last month when a rebel alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched an offensive, reviving a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2020 and 2022. The government counteroffensive has since driven the rebels out of a series of towns and northward. Witnesses and a conflict-monitoring organisation say Eritrean troops approached Zalambessa last week in support of the rebels. Eritrea denies any incursion and has asked the UN to take deterrent measures against Ethiopian troops, calling Addis Ababa's invasion accusations a veiled declaration of war. Spokespeople for the army and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not immediately respond, and with tensions high across the Red Sea, there are fears the violence could spread.