🔗 Share this article

Growing concerns have emerged over the chance of warfare between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of reclaiming previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, state television has shown training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Past Origins of the Tension

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the war was finished – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.