Abiy Ahmed Raises Concerns Over Forced Recruitment of Tigray Youth, Reviving Foreign Fighter Allegations in Sudan
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has once again brought the issue of foreign fighters in the Sudanese conflict into the spotlight, claiming that young people from Ethiopia’s Tigray region are being forcibly recruited and sent to fight in Sudan. He described the practice as one of the most serious challenges currently facing the region.
The Ethiopian leader’s remarks come as accusations continue to circulate over the involvement of foreign combatants in Sudan’s war, amid growing international warnings that continued external interference could prolong the conflict and further complicate prospects for a political settlement.
According to the Addis Standard, Abiy Ahmed told Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives during its 30th regular session that large numbers of Tigrayan youths are being forcibly recruited and deployed to the battlefields in Sudan, where many lose their lives in a war they neither understand nor chose to fight.
His comments come amid ongoing political tensions surrounding the implementation of the Pretoria Agreement, which ended the nearly two-year conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November 2022. However, several unresolved issues related to the agreement continue to fuel domestic disputes.
Mutual Accusations and Reports of Foreign Fighters
Since the first year of the war in Sudan, the Ethiopian government has claimed it received information indicating that members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front had joined the fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces. Similar allegations have since appeared in several international reports suggesting that both sides in the Sudanese conflict have relied on foreign fighters of various nationalities, including Ethiopians, Iranians, and Ukrainians.
In October 2024, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”) accused Sudanese Armed Forces commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of recruiting foreign fighters, specifically alleging that combatants from Ethiopia’s Tigray region were fighting alongside the Sudanese army.
Sudanese media reports, supported by photos and open-source videos, have also alleged that members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s military wing participated in military operations alongside the Sudanese army, particularly in Al Jazirah State and areas of the Blue Nile region near the Ethiopian border.
Videos circulated on social media appeared to show Tigrayan fighters in Al Jazirah wearing Sudanese military uniforms and standing alongside Sudanese soldiers while Ethiopian music played in the background, reigniting debate over the nature of their involvement in the conflict.
At the end of April, additional footage circulated online and through Sudanese news outlets showing Ethiopian prisoners captured by the Rapid Support Forces during fighting in the Blue Nile region.
One of the captured individuals reportedly stated in the video that he had received military training in the Tigray region before being transferred with other groups to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese army.
International Condemnation and Warnings Over Foreign Intervention
Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on the Al-Baraa bin Malik Battalion, the military wing of Sudan’s Islamist Movement, citing its alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and accusing it of committing serious human rights violations against civilians during the conflict.
Meanwhile, both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces continue to exchange accusations of relying on foreign fighters and external support as the war enters another year.
At the international level, the United Nations Human Rights Council, in a resolution adopted during a special session on Sudan, condemned all forms of foreign interference that contribute to fueling the conflict. The resolution, introduced by the United Kingdom, received support from Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Abiy Ahmed’s latest remarks have once again placed the issue of foreign fighters at the center of attention, as competing accusations continue between the warring parties alongside growing international calls to halt all external interference that could prolong the conflict and undermine efforts to reach a political solution to Sudan’s crisis.
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Author: Counselor Faisal Al-Mutairi
Publication Date: July 8, 2026
Last Updated: July 2026
