🔗 Share this article Rising Rhetorical Battle Involving Ethiopia and Eritrea Raises Anxieties of Military Confrontation Mounting concerns are present over the chance of warfare among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea worked together in the civil war in Tigray but they have later become estranged. What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words. The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored. Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access. Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which numerous people died. Current Statements from Ethiopian Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the wish to capture it through military means. On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon". The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力". Eritrean Response to the Statements In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G.. Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking former lands. Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Defense Preparations on the Ground There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the neighboring states. However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The director of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries". Historical Background of the Dispute For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers. Following World War II, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A extended civil war occurred, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, causing war in 1998. Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations stayed at odds. This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award. The neighboring states were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region. However relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.