🔗 Share this article Rising War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Sparks Anxieties of Conflict Mounting concerns exist over the potential of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea cooperated in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have subsequently disagreed. What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared? Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated war of words. The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea ignored. Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea. Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which numerous people lost their lives. Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to take it by force. Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow". The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action". Eritrean Reaction to the Threats Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory. Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Defense Movements on the Border Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries. However, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities. The director of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents". Past Origins of the Conflict For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers. Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state. A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, leading to war in 1998. Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute. This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the war was finished – a decision that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award. The both administrations were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray. Yet ties have later worsened once more.