🔗 Share this article

Growing apprehensions are present about the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

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

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Dispute

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long armed struggle occurred, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous civil war in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.