Ethiopia's army chief accused Eritrea and Sudan on Sunday of backing armed groups fighting federal troops in the Tigray region, as clashes with Tigrayan rebels intensified. The Tigray People's Liberation Front said it was waging a «defensive war» and captured the Afar town of Erebti. A humanitarian source confirmed the rebel advance amid fears of a wider regional conflict. Ethiopia's military leadership accused Eritrea and Sudan on Sunday of providing support to armed groups battling federal forces in the northern Tigray region, as fighting between government troops and Tigrayan rebels intensified over the weekend. The accusation marks a sharp escalation in rhetoric between Addis Ababa and its neighbors, both of which have denied involvement in the past.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which fought a two-year civil war against the federal government before a 2022 peace deal, said it was now waging what it called a «defensive war» against renewed federal offensives. A humanitarian source said TPLF fighters captured the Afar town of Erebti on Sunday, extending the conflict beyond Tigray's own borders for the first time since the ceasefire. The renewed clashes have raised alarm among aid groups and regional governments, who fear a return to a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2020 and 2022. Neither Eritrea nor Sudan has publicly responded to Ethiopia's accusations, and the African Union has not yet commented on the latest fighting.

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