Escalating War of Words Between Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Triggers Fears of Military Confrontation

Growing apprehensions have emerged over the potential of warfare between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and suggested the intention to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Border

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

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

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet relations have since broken down again.