former enemies fight together in Tigray

In Humera, Ethiopia, at the border with Eritrea. Two countries that once fought a bitter war now appear to be allied in a fight to subdue the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  Eduardo Soteras/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Former enemies fight together in Tigray

For weeks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia has denied that soldiers from Eritrea — a country Ethiopia once fought in a brutal war — had entered Tigray.
But according to aid workers, refugees, United Nations officials and diplomats, Eritrean soldiers have joined the fighting in the region of northern Ethiopia, apparently in coordination with Mr. Abiy’s forces, and face credible accusations of atrocities against civilians.
The soldiers have rampaged through refugee camps, committing human rights violations, officials and witnesses say. It is unclear how many soldiers are there, but a communications blackout has slowly been lifting and more accounts are becoming available.

Context: Mr. Abiy and President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea have a shared hostility toward the rulers of Tigray. For Mr. Abiy, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front — a party that once led Ethiopia — is a dangerous political rival. For Mr. Isaias, the feud is personal and stretches back to the 1970s, when Eritrea was fighting for independence from Ethiopia.