Eritrea’s Regime Internationalizing Conflict: PM Advisor Getachew

Addis Ababa, September 17, 2026 (ENA) —The Eritrean regime is seeking to internationalize the conflict in the region by using the TPLF and other armed groups, said Getachew Reda, Minister and Advisor to the Ethiopian Prime Minister on East African Affairs.

Speaking to Pulse of Africa, Getachew, who was also the former President of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration said: “The effort to internationalize the conflict is being done by the Eritrea….”

According to the advisor, the regime in Asmara is also exerting a maximum efforts to widen the conflict by involving armed groups and encouraging the deployment of young people beyond Ethiopia’s borders.

He said reports that some had been captured, killed or wounded were deeply concerning.

Getachew further revealed that former adversaries had set aside their differences in pursuit of a common objective, warning that such alliances could ultimately deepen instability across the Horn of Africa.

He described the alignment between the defunct Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Eritrea as a marriage of convenience between “strange bedfellows” who cannot agree on major issues, calling it a prescription for disaster.

Getachew said “I don't lose sleep over that particular issue,” referring to the alliance.

But he warned that an alliance of “strange bedfellows” whose members disagree on major issues could ultimately become a “prescription for disaster.”

Politics is often called “the art of the possible.” Yet the latest alignment, Getachew Reda argued, shows that political interests can unite even former foes—proving, in this case, that politics can also be the art of the impossible.

He noted that the TPLF had been given “marching orders” to provoke clashes with federal forces and link up with armed groups in Amhara region.

Getachew further stated that the Eritrean government seeking to keep Ethiopia unstable by coordinating with different groups opposed to the federal government.

He further alleged that Eritrea enjoys support from Egypt in these efforts.

 “President Isaias has support in this endeavor from the likes of Egypt. We know for a fact,” Getachew underscored.

“The federal government has exercised maximum restraint so far, despite provocations here and there,” he said, adding that the government had largely pursued a containment strategy.

He cautioned, however, that the situation could change if armed groups-initiated attacks, potentially turning a localized confrontation into a broader regional conflict.

The advisor stressed the need for the international community to exert pressure on the Eritrean regime and other actors he described as spoilers of peace to prevent another devastating war in the region.