🔗 Share this article

Mounting apprehensions exist regarding the chance of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a policy of retaking former lands.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of personnel division of the military, the officer, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a action that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.