Rising Verbal Conflict Among Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Raises Fears of Armed Clash

Mounting apprehensions have emerged over the chance of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his country's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on mid-September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two agreed to a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a action that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.