Rising Rhetorical Battle Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Concerns of Armed Clash

Growing concerns have emerged over the chance of warfare among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities warned on mid-September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Region

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Tension

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

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

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

A thirty-year civil war ensued, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have later worsened again.