Rising Verbal Conflict Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Concerns of Conflict

Increasing apprehensions are present over the chance of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

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

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has displayed completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler ended this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle occurred, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a vote 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 precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a statement that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent civil war in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.