Eritrea Rejects TPLF’s Gold Smuggling Allegations As “mendacious”

The government of Eritrea vehemently denies allegations by former TPLF elements, including Tsadkan Gebretensae (Lt. General), that gold is being smuggled across the border into Eritrea from Tigray.

In a statement posted on social media, Eritrean Minister of Information Yemane Ghebremeskel, described these claims as “mendacious” and “part of a series of abject lies propagated for ulterior objectives.”

This statement comes in response to General Tsadkan’s claims that gold extracted from Tigray is being smuggled to Eritrea and subsequently shipped to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Tsadkan made these claims during a recent interview with DW Television. In the discussion, he said that the regional administration is “unable to control the illegal mining routes from northwestern Tigray to Eritrea”.

“We cannot control these illegal mining routes,” he said. “Our resources are being illegally extracted.”

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Tsadkan disclosed the illicit trade was on the agenda during a recent Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) cabinet meeting.

The Lieutenant General told DW that 38 quintals of gold are illegally extracted and smuggled out of Tigray in the span of a single month. He added that regional officials have called on the federal government to assist their efforts in combating the trade.

“We asked the federal government to intervene and control the border as we don’t have the power and the resources to do so,” said Tsadkan. “Eritrea is the main route for the illegal gold mining.”

The claim was labeled a “novel and baseless accusation” by the Eritrean government, which denied claims of Eritrean military presence in Tigray in the same statement.

“Let us emphasize, for the umpteenth time, that the peoples of our region have no appetite for perpetual and costly wars that may be stoked by incorrigible conflict entrepreneurs,” reads Yemane’s response.

Recent reports reveal that illicit trade is being smuggled out of Tigray along four major routes. The first route passes through Adiabo and Badme, crosses the Mereb River, and leads into Asmara, Eritrea, from where the smuggled gold ultimately reaches Dubai, UAE.

Somaliland has emerged as another key smuggling route, according to reports. Illegally mined gold is transported through the Afar Regional State before making its way to Somaliland, and from there, it is moved across borders into Kenya and Uganda.