🔗 Share this article

Growing concerns are present regarding the possibility of military engagement between East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Past Background of the Tension

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

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a action that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.