Intensifying War of Words Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Anxieties of Conflict

Mounting apprehensions exist regarding the chance of armed conflict among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. After a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

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

Security Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

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 message to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was over – a move that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down once more.