Rising War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Sparks Anxieties of Armed Clash

Increasing concerns exist over the possibility of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

In the face of ongoing warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has shown training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a statement that the conflict was finished – a move that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet relations have later worsened again.