🔗 Share this article Escalating Verbal Conflict Involving Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Triggers Fears of Armed Clash Mounting apprehensions have emerged regarding the chance of military engagement involving East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks. Ethiopia and The Eritrean government worked together in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have subsequently disagreed. What Has Ethiopia Stated? Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense war of words. The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored. Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked. Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives. Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the desire to seize it militarily. On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "addressed in the future". The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action". Eritrean Answer to the Claims In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister. He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains. The information ministry alerted on recently that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Border So far, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations. Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities. The head of staff section of the military, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents". Past Background of the Conflict For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers. After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia. A three-decade long civil war occurred, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998. Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at odds. This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a announcement that the war was concluded – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize. The two governments were then cooperators in the country's recent internal conflict in Tigray. But ties have subsequently deteriorated again.