🔗 Share this article Rising Rhetorical Battle Among Ethiopia and Eritrea Raises Concerns of Armed Clash Mounting concerns are present about the possibility of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea were allies in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have later become estranged. What Has Ethiopia Stated? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated verbal exchange. PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored. Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea. In 1998, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives. Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and implied the intention to seize it militarily. On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow". Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action". Eritrean Response to the Threats Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel. The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains. Government spokespeople alerted on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Defense Movements on the Region There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations. Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The director of human resources department of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries". Previous Background of the Conflict For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers. Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia. A thirty-year civil war occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998. Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads. This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. The both administrations were then allies in the country's previous internal conflict in Tigray. Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.