🔗 Share this article

Increasing apprehensions are present about the possibility of warfare between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a intense war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to concise remarks on X from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

However relations have since broken down anew.