Did Eritrea say its forces advanced into Ethiopia to counter an “imminent danger”, as APA News reported?

What was claimed

On 9 October, APA News, a Dakar-based news agency, reported from Addis Ababa that drones had struck Eritrean troops near Adigrat, citing witnesses A. Its second paragraph says, in French:

Des frappes de drones auraient visé les forces érythréennes alors qu’elles progressaient en territoire éthiopien pour, selon Asmara, parer à un « danger imminent » lié à l’avancée des Forces de défense nationales éthiopiennes (ENDF) vers la frontière nord de l’Érythrée.

In English: drone strikes reportedly hit the Eritrean forces as they advanced in Ethiopian territory to counter, according to Asmara, an “imminent danger” linked to the Ethiopian army’s advance towards Eritrea’s northern border.

“Selon Asmara” means “according to Asmara”, the Eritrean government. The sentence tells readers that Eritrea has explained why its forces entered Ethiopia.

What Eritrea has said

We found no Eritrean statement saying its forces entered Ethiopia, or giving a reason for doing so. Eritrea’s position on the record is the opposite.

On 7 October, two days before APA’s report, Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, denied that Eritrean forces were in Adigrat and called the witness accounts part of an Ethiopian plan to justify a war B. On 10 October, Eritrea’s foreign minister, Osman Saleh, wrote to the UN Security Council that the claims of an Eritrean incursion were part of that plan C. His letter asked the Council to condemn what it called Ethiopia’s “declaration of war”. It does not describe any Eritrean deployment into Ethiopia D.

Eritrean officials have accused Ethiopia of seeking a pretext to invade and of supporting armed opponents of Eritrea’s government E. Accusing a neighbour of threatening you is not the same as saying your army crossed its border to meet that threat. APA joins the two, and attributes the result to Asmara.

APA’s own report undercuts the attribution. Further down, it says: “Ni l’Éthiopie ni l’Érythrée n’ont commenté les frappes de drones signalées”, meaning neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea had commented on the reported drone strikes A. The report names no Eritrean official, statement or date for the “imminent danger” claim.

The photo

The report’s lead photo shows a group of armed men in civilian clothes and headscarves, holding up rifles. It is credited only “Getty” and has no caption A. Nothing tells the reader who the men are, or where or when the photo was taken. Under a headline about Eritrean troops, readers may take them for Eritrean soldiers.

Our verdict

Misleading. APA News attributes to Eritrea a justification for an advance into Ethiopia that Eritrea has never acknowledged making. Eritrea denied that its forces were in Adigrat and told the UN Security Council the incursion claims were a pretext for war. By putting “according to Asmara” on the reason, APA’s report reads as if Eritrea had admitted the incursion and explained it. If an Eritrean statement of this kind is produced, we will review this fact check.