🔗 Share this article

Growing apprehensions have emerged about the possibility of military engagement between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his government's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Amid ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Background of the Dispute

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a statement that the conflict was over – a decision that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

Yet relations have since broken down again.