🔗 Share this article Rising Rhetorical Battle Involving Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Anxieties of Armed Clash Mounting concerns are present regarding the chance of warfare among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has intensified in the past few weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea were allies in the internal conflict in Tigray but they have since fallen out. What Has Ethiopia Stated? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce war of words. Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea dismissed. Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access. Five years later, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died. Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Government Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means. Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action". Eritrea's Answer to the Threats In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister. Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back lost territory. Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Border Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases. The director of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our adversaries". Past Origins of the Conflict For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers. Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia. But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A three-decade long civil war ensued, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to conflict in 1998. Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads. This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the war was over – a decision that earned Abiy the international recognition. The neighboring states were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region. However relations have later worsened once more.