🔗 Share this article

Mounting worries are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a intense verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

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

However, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was over – a move that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down again.