These friendly relations initially continued after they won the civil war and Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia – this time, run by a TPLF-led coalition government called the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

[1][2][3] However, relations soon began to deteriorate significant due to disagreements about the exact location of the new Ethiopian–Eritrean border, culminating in a full-scale war between the two states,[4][5] in which both countries engaged in human rights violations, including rape, torture, beatings, internment and forced expulsions of civilians.

[9][10] Although both countries initially agreed to respect this agreement,[11] by 2003, Ethiopia had rejected it, primarily due to the Badme decision, and Eritrea was not interested in a renegotiation.

[12][13] Relations between Eritrea and the TPLF-led Ethiopia continued to remain tense as a result of these disagreements, becoming a sticking point in the ensuing border conflict.

[25] On 2 April 2018, Abiy Ahmed was sworn in by parliament as Ethiopia's new prime minister, following the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn, who had done so in the wake of major protests against him.

Their involvement has wider implications, with Eritrea explicitly supporting Ethiopia militarily, a major change following two decades of hostile diplomatic relations.

[44] On 28–29 November 2020, witnesses and survivors, including refugees in Sudan, reported that the Eritrean Defence Forces carried out a massacre in Axum that killed between 100 and 800 civilians.

[52] The situation on the ground changed drastically following a guerilla warfare campaign by the TDF, and in February 2021, the UN chief coordinator of humanitarian efforts Mark Lowcock said that up to 40% of Tigray was not controlled by Ethiopian troops.

[55] On 16 June 2021, the Ethiopian ambassador to the UN stated that Eritrean troops in Tigray were to "definitely leave soon,"[56] but Eritrea would continue sending in forces long after this.