Escalating Verbal Conflict Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Raises Fears of Armed Clash

Mounting apprehensions are present over the possibility of warfare involving East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a intense rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked.

In 1998, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the desire to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

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

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two agreed to a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous civil war in Tigray.

But relations have later worsened anew.