According to sources, Eritrea is currently engaged in a military mobilization in which reservists up to the age of 55 have been called up to replenish the army.
According to sources who spoke to BBC Tigrinya on Thursday, several residents of Asmara, the capital, were handed notifications and transported within hours to the front lines along the country’s boundary with Ethiopia’s Tigray province.
Many other regions of the nation’s reserves have also received instructions to report to their respective head offices.
Roundups have increased recently in several places, including Asmara. People are being stopped by security forces so they may determine if they are exempt from military conscription.
According to accounts, some reserve members received instructions to carry their own supplies including water bottles and blankets.
As they said goodbye to their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands, there were scenes of mothers, children, and wives crying.
Fears have been raised that the war in neighboring Ethiopia’s Tigray area may worsen as a result of the most recent mobilization.
After five months of a humanitarian ceasefire, fighting between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces started up again last month.
Leaders in Tigray have charged Eritrea with cooperating with the Ethiopian military along the western portion of their shared border.
Requests for comment from the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments have gone unanswered, but the Eritrean government has accused the Tigray forces of plotting an attack on its citizens.
In the early stages of the conflict, Eritrean forces fought with the Ethiopian government army against Tigrayan forces. The Eritrean government disputed the allegations that they committed atrocities.
Because of their role in the conflict in Ethiopia, the US has imposed sanctions on the Eritrean Defense Forces and the PFDJ, the country’s ruling party.