Rumors of Ethiopian Military Seizing Deba Sima in Eritrea
Rumors have been in circulation since yesterday that Ethiopian military has seized control of Deba Sima locality inside Eritrea. Deba Sima is a small locality and village situated in the Southern Denkalya sub region of the Southern Red Sea Region (Debub-Keih-Bahri) in southeastern Eritrea. It is situated 10-15 km away from Bure town administered by the Ethiopian government in the Afar region.
Since yesterday, Ethiopian military backed social media accounts have been claiming that Ethiopian military advanced from Bure and captured Deba Sima. No official statements have been issued by the Ethiopian or Eritrean governments. Last week, Ethiopian government accused Eritrea of launching military into Ethiopia to back Ethiopian opposition armed groups.
Deba Sima is situated around 55 km away from Eritrean Assab port. Ethiopian leaders have recently been claiming Ethiopia will gain access to Asseb port. Eritrea calls Ethiopian rhetoric a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
No independent verification could be done about Deba Sima coming under Ethiopian military control. But tensions have been running high between Ethiopian and Eritrean governments since the start of war in Ethiopia last month.
Meanwhile drone strikes by Ethiopian Airforce near Eritrean border in the Tigray region of Ethiopia are intensifying. Eritrean military had to back off from Ethiopian territories in recent days because of the strikes. Yesterday Ethiopian Airforce twice hit Gerhu Sernay near Eritrean border. A school and a military convoy were hit there.
Eritrean government this week urged UN to intervene to stop Ethiopia from invading Eritrea. UN Secretary General, on weekend, urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to show restraint and engage in dialogue. The Secretary General expressed concern about presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia.
