🔗 Share this article Escalating War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Triggers Concerns of Military Confrontation Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea were allies in the civil war in Tigray but they have subsequently disagreed. What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Diplomatic connections between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it without sea access. Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died. Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means. Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future". Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force". Eritrea's Response to the Statements Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister. The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming previous domains. Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Preparations on the Region There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations. However, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases. The head of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries". Past Background of the Dispute For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers. Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia. But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A three-decade long civil war ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998. Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at odds. This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. The two governments were then cooperators in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region. But diplomatic connections have later worsened again.