Escalating Rhetorical Battle Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Raises Concerns of Military Confrontation

Increasing apprehensions exist about the potential of warfare involving East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a heated rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back previous domains.

Eritrean authorities warned on recently that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Dispute

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 turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a announcement that the conflict was over – a move that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

But ties have later worsened again.