🔗 Share this article

Increasing concerns are present over the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the intention to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to short statements on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming previous domains.

Eritrean authorities alerted 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 Border

Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was administered by colonial powers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle followed, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the war was over – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have subsequently deteriorated again.