Reliable sources near the Ethiopia-Eritrea border have confirmed that Eritrean troops launched a heavy artillery attack this evening on the town of Bure, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region.
Bure sits on the tense border between the two countries, just 80 kilometers from the vital Eritrean port city of Assab. The town is also a key point on the Awash–Assab trade corridor, which Ethiopia once used for sea access before relations with Eritrea were severed.
The town of Bure has long been a flashpoint between Eritrea and Ethiopia. It was one of the main areas contested during the 1998–2000 border war. Though the conflict officially ended, tensions over territory like Bure have continued to simmer.
In recent weeks, anti-Eritrean regime opposition groups have reportedly been organizing in the area, possibly prompting the Eritrean military’s latest offensive.