🔗 Share this article

Growing worries are present about the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

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

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The two agreed to a statement that the war was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's recent civil war in the northern region.

However relations have subsequently deteriorated again.