🔗 Share this article Rising War of Words Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Raises Concerns of Military Confrontation Growing worries have emerged over the chance of armed conflict among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks. The Ethiopian government and The Eritrean government worked together in the armed struggle in northern Ethiopia but they have later become estranged. What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared? Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated war of words. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea ignored. Ties between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access. Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed. Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Officials Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means. In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force". Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on X from Communications Head the minister. He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back former lands. Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that moves to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Defense Movements on the Ground Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries. However, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps. The head of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries". Historical Origins of the Dispute For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was administered by Italian colonisers. Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state. A thirty-year internal conflict followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998. Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations stayed at in dispute. This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won Abiy the international recognition. The two governments were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region. Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.