🔗 Share this article

Mounting concerns have emerged about the potential of military engagement between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

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

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was administered by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

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

The two governments were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated again.