🔗 Share this article Intensifying Rhetorical Battle Among Ethiopia and Eritrea Sparks Fears of Conflict Increasing worries are present about the chance of warfare among East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the last month. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea worked together in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have later become estranged. What Did Ethiopia Said? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict. Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked. Five years later, a border war erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died. Recent Comments from Ethiopian Government Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and hinted at the intention to take it by force. On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力". Eritrean Answer to the Claims Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel. Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands. The information ministry alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Ground So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the frontier regions between the neighboring states. However, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases. The leader of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries". Previous Background of the Tension For decades from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers. After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A thirty-year armed struggle followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998. Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at odds. This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a statement that the war was finished – a move that gained Abiy the international recognition. The two governments were then allies in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region. But diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.