Ethiopia's prime minister accuses Eritrea of mass killings during Tigray war

Описание: (3 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 03 February 2026
1.⁠ Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) and Ethiopian House Speaker Tagesse Chafo (right) arriving at Ethiopian Parliament
2. Various of members of parliament
3. Various of MPs listening
4. Wide of Ahmed talking on screen
5.⁠ ⁠SOUNDBITE (Amharic) Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia:
"The rift did not begin with the Red Sea issue, as many people think. It was in the early round of the war in Tigray when the Eritrean troops who were behind us, after we controlled shire, began to demolish the houses of individuals. However, we did not speak out at that time. The rift worsened when they massacred the youth in Axum. When they went to Adwa and looted the (textile) factories, disagreements rose significantly. When we captured Adigrat, they were uprooting the pharmaceutical factory and demolishing those that were not being uprooted. The disagreement then reached its peak, but we could do nothing as the Ethiopian government was not capable of fighting on all directions at that time."
6. Various of MPs listening
7. Close of MP speaking
8. Various of foreign diplomats listening to the address
9. Wide of MPs
10. Mid of Ahmed and Chafo speaking
11. Various of MPs listening
12. SOUNDBITE (Amharic) Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia:
“There are forces that want to harm Ethiopia. They finance with money; but they cannot defeat Ethiopia because we are better than them. They invest their money; and eventually go bankrupt, but we will move forward.”
13.⁠ ⁠Various of MPs
14.⁠ ⁠SOUNDBITE (Amharic) Abiy Ahmed , Prime Minister of Ethiopia:
“The Red Sea and Ethiopia cannot remain separated forever.”
15.⁠ ⁠Various of Ahmed and Chafo speaking
STORYLINE:
Ethiopia's government on Tuesday for the first time acknowledged the involvement of troops from neighboring Eritrea in the war in the Tigray region that ended in 2022, accusing them of mass killings, amid reports of renewed fighting in the region.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, while addressing parliament, accused Eritrean troops fighting alongside Ethiopian forces of mass killings in the war, during which more than 400,000 people are estimated to have died.

Eritrean and Ethiopian troops fought against regional forces in the northern Tigray region in a war that ended in 2022 with the signing of a peace agreement.

Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told The Associated Press that Ahmed’s comments were “cheap and despicable lies” and did not merit a response.

Both nations have been accusing each other of provoking a potential civil war, with landlocked Ethiopia saying that Eritrea is arming and funding rebel groups, while Eritrea said Ethiopia’s aspiration is to gain access to a seaport.

“The rift did not begin with the Red Sea issue, as many people think,” Ahmed told parliamentarians on Tuesday.

“It was in the early round of the war in Tigray when the Eritrean troops who were behind us, after we controlled shire, began to demolish the houses of individuals."

“The Red Sea and Ethiopia cannot remain separated forever,” he added.

Ethiopia lost sovereign access to the Red Sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993 after decades of guerrilla warfare.

Eritrea and Ethiopia initially made peace after Abiy came to power in 2018, with Abiy winning a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts toward reconciliation.

In June, Eritrea accused Ethiopia of having a “long-brewing war agenda” aimed at seizing its Red Sea ports.

Ethiopia recently said that Eritrea was “actively preparing to wage war against it.”






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