🔗 Share this article Intensifying Rhetorical Battle Between Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Raises Fears of Military Confrontation Growing worries have emerged regarding the potential of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has intensified in the last month. Ethiopia and The Eritrean government cooperated in the civil war in Tigray but they have since fallen out. What Has Ethiopia Said? Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated verbal exchange. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea rejected. Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked. Five years later, a border war broke out in which numerous people died. Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the desire to seize it militarily. Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force". Eritrean Reaction to the Claims Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains. Eritrean authorities cautioned on recently that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Border So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries. Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The leader of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries". Past Roots of the Tension For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers. Following World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia. But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A extended internal conflict ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing hostilities in 1998. Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads. This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a action that won Abiy the international recognition. The two governments were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray. But relations have subsequently deteriorated again.