🔗 Share this article Escalating Rhetorical Battle Involving Ethiopia and Eritrea Triggers Fears of Armed Clash Mounting apprehensions are present about the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea were allies in the civil war in northern Ethiopia but they have subsequently disagreed. What Did Ethiopia Stated? Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a intense verbal exchange. PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea ignored. Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access. Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed. Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Leadership Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means. On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force". Eritrean Reaction to the Threats In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister. Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory. Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Movements on the Ground There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the neighboring states. However, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases. The head of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents". Past Origins of the Dispute For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers. After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia. A extended internal conflict ensued, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998. Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained 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 statement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won Abiy the international recognition. The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray. Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down again.