🔗 Share this article

Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the chance of armed conflict between Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations.

However, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a statement that the war was finished – a move that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.