Gedu Andargachew has rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s assertion that he delivered a message to Eritrean authorities calling for an end to atrocities committed against the Tigrayan people during the Tigray war.<\/p>\n
Former Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew has rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s parliamentary assertion that he was sent to Asmara with a message demanding an end to Eritrean army atrocities during the Tigray War.<\/p>\n
In a letter dated Wednesday, 4 February 2026, Gedu acknowledged that he traveled to Eritrea but said the message he carried from the prime minister was to \u201ctake joint precautions\u201d against what he described as a \u201csmear campaign related to human rights violations.\u201d He added that, during the conflict, Eritrean forces \u201cworked together\u201d with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces \u201cas if they were one country\u201d and advanced \u201cas far as Debre Tabor\u201d in operations against Tigrayan forces.<\/p>\n
Context and parliamentary remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n Prime Minister Abiy raised the Ethiopia\u2013Eritrea relationship in a speech to the House of Peoples\u2019 Representatives, saying the conflict between the two countries \u201cbegan\u201d during the Tigray War. He accused Eritrean soldiers, who fought alongside government forces, of committing mass killings in Axum and of destroying factories and shops in Shire, Adwa and Adigrat. Abiy said he had sent \u201cseveral envoys to Eritrea\u201d after those attacks, and named Gedu as one of those envoys.<\/p>\n Abiy told parliament: \u201cHonorable Ato Gedu was the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. I sent him to Eritrea twice. What he sent was, \u2018Don\u2019t abuse my Tigray people, don\u2019t plunder their wealth; the conflict is with the TPLF, not with the Tigray people.\u2019\u201d He added that Gedu \u201cmay also testify.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gedu\u2019s response and timeline<\/strong><\/p>\n Gedu, now an opponent of Abiy\u2019s government, responded in writing that Abiy had \u201cconsidered him as a witness\u201d in the parliamentary address but disputed the prime minister\u2019s account. He noted that although he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in April 2019 and served in that role until the outbreak of the Tigray War, he was reassigned on 4 November 2020\u2014one day after the war began\u2014as National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n In his letter, Gedu confirmed a January 2021 trip to Asmara with \u201ca Foreign Ministry official\u201d to deliver a message to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, but he said the content differed from Abiy\u2019s description. \u201cThe prime minister has made a big mistake in this regard,\u201d Gedu wrote.<\/p>\n Gedu said the message he delivered focused on three points. The first conveyed congratulations to President Isaias \u201con our victory in the joint operation against the Woyane.\u201d The second expressed gratitude to the Eritrean government and people for the care given to their forces during the Northern Command\u2019s attack and for the \u201cbrotherly support\u201d in preparing a counterattack. The third addressed what Gedu described as a \u201cwidespread smear campaign\u201d alleging human rights violations, which he said was being driven by \u201csome Woyane (TPLF) supporters and foreign forces\u201d seeking to undermine Ethiopia\u2013Eritrea relations through international organizations and media.<\/p>\n Gedu said the core warning he carried was: \u201cWe need to be careful because this could end up harming both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On troop withdrawal and Tigray suffering<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gedu said he raised the question of asking Eritrea to withdraw its troops, but that Abiy \u201cwarned me not to ask Eritrea to withdraw its troops at all.\u201d He said he accepted the mission as instructed and delivered the message as received.<\/p>\n He denied that he was given any directive specifically concerning the people of Tigray. \u201cYour concern at the time was the potential for a human rights violation case against us, but the suffering of the people of Tigray was never on your agenda,\u201d he wrote, directly challenging the prime minister\u2019s parliamentary remarks.<\/p>\n Gedu said President Isaias responded in Asmara that he would instruct subordinate structures \u201cto be as careful as possible,\u201d and that he and Abiy agreed there remained \u201ca lot of work to do.\u201d Gedu said he relayed that response back to the prime minister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eritrean involvement and joint operations<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his letter, Gedu acknowledged Eritrean participation in the Tigray War. \u201cI don\u2019t think there was a time when the Eritrean army did not stand by the Ethiopian National defense forces from the beginning of the Tigray War until the Pretoria Agreement,\u201d he wrote. He added that in the summer of 2023, when Tigrayan forces crossed into the Amhara region, Eritrean troops had reached \u201cas far as the Debre Tabor area.\u201d<\/p>\n Gedu said joint military operations between the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the Eritrean Army ceased only after the Pretoria Agreement was signed. \u201cUntil then, they were together as if they were the army of one country,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n Gedu Andargachew has rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s assertion that he delivered a message to Eritrean authorities calling for an end to atrocities committed against the Tigrayan people during the Tigray war. Former Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew has rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s parliamentary assertion that he was sent to Asmara with a message demanding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Gedu Andargachew Denies Abiy Ahmed\u2019s Claims on Eritrean Role in Tigray War - Dedebit Broadcasting Corporation","description":"Gedu Andargachew has rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s assertion that he delivered a message to Eritrean authorities calling for an end to atrocities committ"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[223],"tags":[609,610,535],"class_list":["post-26610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-gedu_andargachew","tag-minystry_of_foreign_affairs","tag-updates_ethiopia"],"yoast_head":"\n