🔗 Share this article Escalating Verbal Conflict Between Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Raises Anxieties of Conflict Mounting apprehensions exist regarding the possibility of military engagement between Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea were allies in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have since fallen out. What Has Ethiopia Stated? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense war of words. The Ethiopian leader previously announced in 2023 that his nation's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored. Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked. Five years later, a military clash erupted in which numerous people died. Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and suggested the desire to seize it militarily. Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "usingæ¦åŠ›". Eritrean Answer to the Threats Amid continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel. The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory. Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Activities on the Ground Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries. Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps. The leader of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies". Previous Background of the Dispute For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by colonial powers. Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A three-decade long civil war ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a referendum in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to conflict in 1998. Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute. This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a statement that the war was over – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition. The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region. Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened again.