🔗 Share this article

Mounting concerns have emerged regarding the chance of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on X from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that moves to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the military, the officer, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations remained at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two signed a declaration that the war was finished – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.