🔗 Share this article

Mounting worries exist about the potential of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

So far, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

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

A three-decade long civil war occurred, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing war in 1998.

Although this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two agreed to a announcement that the war was concluded – a decision that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet ties have since broken down once more.