A Facebook post claims to show a video from an emerging conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 2023. However, this is false: a voiceover in the clip, which shows images of both countries’ leaders, discusses the deteriorating relations between the neighbours. It also features an audio translation of an article by international media exploring whether Ethiopia and Eritrea could be drawn into a war in Sudan.

The post has been shared more than 150 times since it was published on May 11, 2023.

“War broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Shabia left Humera. A Prosperity Party leader has been assassinated,” it says.

“This news item is for May 8, 2023. You can watch our full report on our Habesha Broadcast YouTube channel,” adds the post, which includes a 60-minute video.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on May 16, 2023

Shabia is an informal name for the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). The armed group fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia until the former broke away in 1991.

Humera is a town in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which borders Eritrea and Sudan. The town was heavily affected by the recent war in northern Ethiopia.

Souring relations

Ethiopia and Eritrea renewed their relations (archived here) in 2018, ending decades of conflict over a border dispute.

Eritrea also fought alongside the Ethiopian army against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in a devastating two-year war that ended after the warring parties agreed to a peace...

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