🔗 Share this article

Growing concerns have emerged about the chance of warfare between East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Past Background of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

But relations have subsequently deteriorated again.