🔗 Share this article

Increasing worries are present over the potential of warfare between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

Eritrean authorities warned on mid-September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

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

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the war was concluded – a action that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.