🔗 Share this article

Growing worries have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement between Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in last year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the military, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

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

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.