10月7日——据两名目击者向路透社透露，周三，厄立特里亚士兵驾车穿过了埃塞俄比亚北部的阿迪格拉特镇。就在几天前，这两个非洲之角邻国断绝了外交关系，此举引发了双方爆发全面冲突的担忧。
Oct 7 - Eritrean soldiers drove through the northern Ethiopian town of Adigrat on Wednesday, two witnesses told Reuters, days after the Horn of Africa neighbours severed diplomatic ties, raising fears of outright conflict.
此次目击事件将是首次证实：自上月埃塞俄比亚联邦政府与反叛联盟在北部地区爆发冲突以来，厄立特里亚军队确实进入了埃塞俄比亚领土。
The sightings of Eritrean troops would be the first confirmation of their presence on Ethiopian soil during the conflict in the country's north between the federal government and a rebel alliance that broke out last month.
厄立特里亚新闻部长耶马内·格布雷梅斯克尔否认本国军队出现在埃塞俄比亚境内，并称这些目击者的说法不过是埃塞俄比亚为发动侵略战争找的借口。
Eritrea’s information minister Yemane Gebremeskel denied Eritrean forces were there, calling the witness accounts part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war of aggression against its smaller neighbour.
自9月23日起，埃塞俄比亚指控厄立特里亚支持反叛联盟对抗联邦政府军，冲突主要发生在提格雷、阿姆哈拉和阿法尔等北部地区。上周，阿法尔地区行政长官称亲眼看到厄立特里亚士兵在当地作战，但路透社未能核实这一说法。
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance battling federal government troops since September 23 in the northern regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar. Afar's chief administrator said last week that Eritrean troops were fighting in his region, but Reuters could not confirm that.
厄立特里亚方面则否认了所有指控，这些指控也是两国上周断绝外交关系的直接原因。
Asmara has denied the allegations, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties last week.
目前，埃塞俄比亚政府及总理阿比·艾哈迈德的发言人尚未对相关置评请求作出回应。
Spokespeople for Ethiopia's government and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
目击者称看到厄立特里亚军队穿城而过：两名阿迪格拉特居民称，周三上午他们看到两辆卡车上载着数十名厄立特里亚士兵驶过镇子。阿迪格拉特位于提格雷州，距离厄立特里亚边境约25公里（15英里），在当前冲突中并未发生交战。他们表示，从士兵们所穿的米白色迷彩服可以确认其身份。
WITNESSES SAW ERITREAN TROOPS DRIVING THROUGH TOWN Two residents of Adigrat, a town in Tigray about 25 km (15 miles) south of the Eritrean border that has not experienced clashes during the current conflict, said they had seen two trucks with dozens of Eritrean soldiers driving through the town on Wednesday morning. They said they could identify the soldiers as Eritrean by their off-white camouflage uniforms.
另一位当时不在镇上的阿迪格拉特居民称，他的家人也告诉他看到了厄立特里亚军队。
Another Adigrat resident who was not in town at the time said family members had told him they had also seen Eritrean troops.
由于当前冲突带来的安全风险，所有目击者均要求匿名。路透社无法独立核实他们的说法。
Reuters could not independently verify their accounts. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns related to the ongoing conflict.
厄立特里亚新闻部长耶马内指出，这些指控意在为埃塞俄比亚提供进攻厄立特里亚的借口。
The Eritrean information minister Yemane said the allegations were intended to provide Ethiopia with a pretext to attack Eritrea.
三年来，阿比及其他埃塞俄比亚官员反复强调，对于这个内陆国家而言，获得出海口对其安全和经济至关重要。阿斯马拉将这些言论视为对其的间接威胁，而亚的斯亚贝巴则表示，其目标是和平地获得出海口。
For over three years, Abiy and other Ethiopian officials have repeatedly said that sea access is vital for their landlocked country's security and economy. Asmara views those comments as an implicit threat against it, while Addis Ababa has said it aims to gain sea access peacefully.
耶马内表示：“埃塞俄比亚通过捏造各种针对厄立特利亚的指控，试图以自卫为名重新包装这一战争议程。因此，我们把这些线索串联起来。” 埃塞俄比亚北部冲突加剧了对战争扩大的担忧。2020年至2022年提格雷内战期间，厄立特利亚士兵曾支持埃塞俄比亚联邦政府作战。
Ethiopia “has tried to re-package this war agenda in terms of self-defence by fabricating various allegations against Eritrea,” Yemane said. “So we connect the dots.”NORTHERN ETHIOPIA CONFLICT FUELS FEARS OF WIDER WAR Eritrean soldiers fought in support of Ethiopia’s federal government during a 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.
根据埃塞俄比亚政府、联合国专家和人权组织的说法，内战结束后，其中一些士兵仍留在靠近边界的提格雷北部地区。厄立特利亚对此予以否认。
Some of them remained in northern parts of Tigray close to the border well after the war ended, according to Ethiopia’s government, UN experts and human rights organisations. Eritrea denied this.
上个月爆发的战斗引发了担忧：在这个日益脆弱的地区，动荡局势可能会蔓延到埃塞俄比亚境外，而其他国家也在该地区争夺影响力。
The fighting that broke out last month has raised fear that unrest could spread beyond Ethiopia’s borders in an increasingly fragile region where other powers are competing for influence.
提格雷的北部是埃塞俄比亚长期对手厄立特利亚，西部则是陷入持续三年多内战的苏丹。
Tigray has Ethiopia's longtime foe Eritrea to its north, and Sudan — caught up in a more than three-year-old civil war — to its west.
埃塞俄比亚政府还指控埃及和苏丹支持反对派联盟，但两国均予以否认。
Ethiopia's government has also accused Egypt and Sudan of supporting the opposition alliance. Both have denied this.
周六，美国国务院敦促阿斯马拉和亚的斯亚贝巴保持克制，并警告称，任何冲突都将危及美国与两国的合作。
On Saturday, the US State Department urged Asmara and Addis Ababa to exercise restraint, warning that a conflict would jeopardise US collaboration with both countries.
厄立特利亚曾是埃塞俄比亚的一个省份，经过30年的独立斗争后，于1993年正式建国。两国曾在1998年至2000年间爆发边境战争，造成数万人死亡。
Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, won its statehood in 1993 after a 30-year independence struggle. The two countries fought a border war from 1998-2000 that killed tens of thousands.
2018年，两国恢复了外交关系，阿比也因此荣获诺贝尔和平奖，但在2020年至2022年的提格雷战争期间，两国关系再次恶化。
They normalised diplomatic relations in 2018, winning Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize, but relations soured once again during the 2020-2022 Tigray war.