10月9日，亚的斯亚贝巴消息——埃塞俄比亚政府表示，面对所谓厄立特里亚军队的‘全面入侵’，该国别无选择，只能采取自卫措施。这一表态出现在周五埃塞俄比亚向联合国安理会提交并同步提供给路透社的信件中。
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 9 - Ethiopia's government said it had no option but to defend itself against what it called an "all-out invasion" by Eritrean forces, in a letter to the UN Security Council shared with Reuters on Friday.
这是埃塞俄比亚针对本周厄立特里亚军队越境事件的首份官方声明。该事件引发了人们对这两个非洲之角邻国可能爆发全面战争的担忧。埃塞俄比亚外交部长格迪翁·蒂莫特沃斯在信中称，厄立特里亚军队已深入埃塞俄比亚北部地区，最远达60公里（37英里）。这封信件由一名埃塞俄比亚政府高级官员转交给了路透社。
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. The letter was shared with Reuters by a senior Ethiopian government official.
周五，厄立特里亚新闻部长耶马内·格布雷梅斯克尔并未立即回应相关置评请求。此前在周三，他曾称有关厄立特里亚军队入侵的报道是埃塞俄比亚为发动侵略战争寻找借口的手段。
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.
埃塞俄比亚在信中称，厄立特里亚军队进入本国领土是‘公然的侵略行为，严重侵犯了埃塞俄比亚固有的自卫权’。信中进一步指出：‘厄立特里亚政府变本加厉，派遣包括机械化部队在内的军队深入埃塞俄比亚境内；该国对北部部分地区的全面入侵已是不争的事实。’据路透社的现场目击者证实，就在两国断绝外交关系数日后，厄立特里亚士兵确实出现在了埃塞俄比亚北部。
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."
自9月23日起，埃塞俄比亚北部提格雷、阿姆哈拉及阿法尔地区便爆发了反政府武装与政府军之间的冲突。埃塞俄比亚方面指控厄立特里亚暗中支持这些反政府武装，但后者始终予以否认。
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.