Between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a border town’s residents worry

The renewed tensions between the two countries have worried the international community.(AFP) — Around the border town of Zalambessa, Eritrean and Ethiopian armies face each other with anxious civilians stuck between them, residents told AFP, as the threat of regional war looms.The town is a border crossing that has been closed for several years. It briefly reopened in 2018 during a short-lived rapprochement between the two neighboring nations.The countries are once again at loggerheads, with Eritrea deploying thousands of troops in northern Tigray, according to a security source, to back rebels also fighting central control.“Ethiopian troops are on one side, and Eritrean troops are on the other,” Selam, 33, whose first name has been changed for security reasons, told AFP on Thursday.Eritrean soldiers initially pushed south before drone strikes forced them to retreat into the hills of the mountainous region.Although there is no fighting now, Selam said by telephone that her small shop and home have been without power or water for a week.“We are caught in the middle and living in deep anxiety.”‘Pray’Federal forces have deployed heavy weaponry toward Zalambessa in recent days, according to conflict monitor ACLED.The group said eyewitnesses had observed a “substantial convoy of tanks and heavy weaponry advancing” from the south toward Zalambessa.AFP was unable to independently verify this information.Within the town, an eerie silence has fallen, according to residents.“Shops, restaurants and other businesses are closed, and you hardly see anyone on the streets,” said Hadush, 45, who also asked to be identified by only one name.“Most people only go out to attend church and pray.”With the roads into the town blocked, he said, few supplies were making it through, sending prices soaring and making goods scarce.“Now there is no bread,” he said.“The people of Zalambessa are living in deep anxiety,” he told AFP.Selam said federal soldiers were preventing residents from leaving for the city of Adigrat, about 18 miles south.“We cannot visit our families or bring in groceries and other supplies,” she said.Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not respond to AFP’s questions about the presence of Eritrean troops.‘De-escalation’The renewed tensions between the two countries have worried the international community.On Wednesday, the United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to pursue “de-escalation,” insisting that all countries “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbours and avoid cross-border incursions.”Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The countries fought a deadly war from 1998 to 2000 before briefly mending ties when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.But they have fallen out again, severing relations this month over the Tigrayan conflict.Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which launched a major offensive against government forces on Sept. 23.Meanwhile, Eritrea alleges landlocked Ethiopia is planning to use the conflict as a justification to invade its territory and seize control of the Red Sea port of Assab.Despite initial successes in the Afar region, the TPLF has retreated ahead of advancing federal forces, abandoning cities and towns for the hills.Pro-government forces took control of the regional capital, Mekelle, without any fighting on Oct. 3 and continued farther north, seizing a string of towns without encountering resistance.The latest town to fall is Rama, just 4 miles from Eritrea, two residents told AFP.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads