Dina Mufti, an Ethiopian parliamentarian and former spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has accused Eritrean troops of occupying parts of Ethiopian territory. In an interview with local media on Thursday, Mufti urged the Eritrean government to withdraw its forces from several border regions of Ethiopia and called on the international community to exert pressure on Eritrea to pull its troops out of the Tigray region. However, she did not specify which border areas should be vacated. Eritrean troops gained control of several border regions during the two-year conflict between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), during which they allied with the Ethiopian government.
Mufti accused President Isaias Afwerki of fostering a “very dangerous” narrative of “Cushitic-Semitic antagonism,” which he claims is part of a larger effort to destabilize Ethiopia and shift political dynamics in the Horn of Africa. In a commentary for the state-affiliated Horn Review, Mufti reflected on Isaias’s recent speech during Eritrea’s 34th Independence anniversary, suggesting that the Eritrean leader has developed this thesis as a basis for the “realignment of forces in the Horn.”
Beyond verbal provocations, Mufti asserted that Eritrean troops are currently present in both Sudan and Ethiopian territory. He further accused Isaias of providing “active material support to various subservient and armed groups” that are opposing the Ethiopian state. “His ongoing violations of Ethiopia's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and unity cannot be tolerated indefinitely,” he stated.
