Intensifying Verbal Conflict Involving Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Triggers Anxieties of Conflict

Increasing concerns have emerged about the possibility of armed conflict involving East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash erupted in which numerous people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Tension

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

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

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years 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 shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders signed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.