Escalating War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Concerns of Armed Clash

Increasing worries have emerged about the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

There have been no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the conflict was finished – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

But relations have later worsened again.