DW says Ethiopian army has not entered Eritrea and Debay Sima capture claims are false, Natna News reports

A 1988 U.S. Defense Mapping Agency chart of Assab and its hinterland, which labels Debaysima inland of the port (Defense Mapping Agency, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) [file photo]

Deutsche Welle has found that social media claims saying Ethiopian troops crossed into Eritrea and captured Debay Sima are false, Natna News reported on Tuesday.

The posts said Ethiopian forces had moved beyond the town of Bure and taken Debay Sima. Citing eyewitnesses, DW confirmed that Ethiopian troops have not moved beyond Elidar and Bure into Eritrean territory. Natna News said the check comes at a time when officials and outlets are presenting border movements that are not in fact happening. Bure and Elidar sit on the Ethiopian side of the frontier in Afar. Debay Sima, also spelled Deba-Sima, is a village in Eritrea’s Southern Denkalya subregion, about 50 kilometers from Assab.

The claim was first reported by UMD Media, which cited a source close to the federal government and said it could not verify the advance. On Monday, UMD Media said local sources in Afar’s Elidar district had dismissed the report. The Europe External Programme with Africa’s October 12 situation report described Bure as an active combat zone and also cited unverified reports of a crossing. Neither government has commented on the Debay Sima claim.

Sources:

• Natna News summary of DW fact-check
• Natna News on the Haddas Ertra statement
• Eritrea Ministry of Information (Tigrinya)
• Reuters via The Straits Times on Zalambessa
• Security Council Report on Ethiopia and Eritrea UN letters
• AfriMEOSINT on near-border drone damage inside Tigray