🔗 Share this article Rising War of Words Involving Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Sparks Concerns of Armed Clash Growing apprehensions have emerged about the potential of warfare among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in recent weeks. Ethiopia and The Eritrean government were allies in the civil war in Tigray but they have later become estranged. What Has Ethiopia Said? Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, making it landlocked. In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died. Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Officials Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means. In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force". Eritrea's Response to the Statements In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking previous domains. Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Activities on the Region There have been no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at various military training camps. The leader of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries". Past Background of the Dispute For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by colonial powers. After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia. But in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A thirty-year civil war occurred, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to hostilities in 1998. Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads. This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a declaration that the conflict was over – a move that won Abiy the international recognition. The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's previous civil war in Tigray. However diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.