🔗 Share this article

Increasing concerns have emerged about the possibility of warfare among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

The information ministry alerted on recently that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Dispute

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

After World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the war was finished – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened anew.