🔗 Share this article

Increasing apprehensions have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

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 implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on X from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Eritrean authorities alerted on 16 September that attempts to validate "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Origins of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, ending with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the war was finished – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

But relations have later worsened again.