🔗 Share this article Escalating Rhetorical Battle Between Ethiopia and Eritrea Sparks Anxieties of Conflict Growing apprehensions are present regarding the chance of warfare among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has escalated in the past few weeks. The Ethiopian government and The Eritrean government were allies in the internal conflict in northern Ethiopia but they have subsequently disagreed. What Did Ethiopian Officials Said? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce war of words. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored. Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea. Five years later, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed. Current Statements from Ethiopia's Government Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to take it by force. Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed in the future". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action". Eritrea's Answer to the Statements In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister. He has rejected Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory. Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Preparations on the Border Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations. Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities. The leader of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents". Previous Roots of the Conflict For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian rulers. After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. But in the early 1960s the ruler ended this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia. A extended internal conflict occurred, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998. Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at odds. This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the war was over – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award. The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in Tigray. But diplomatic connections have later worsened again.