π Share this article Rising Rhetorical Battle Between Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Triggers Anxieties of Conflict Mounting apprehensions are present over the potential of military engagement among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has intensified in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea were allies in the internal conflict in northern Ethiopia but they have since fallen out. What Did Ethiopian Officials Said? Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange. Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his country's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea. Five years later, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed. Recent Statements from Ethiopian Government Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab β about 60km from the border - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily. On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future". The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "usingζ¦ε". Eritrea's Answer to the Claims In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" β a strategy of claiming back lost territory. The information ministry alerted on mid-September that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Movements on the Ground There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries. Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The leader of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries". Previous Background of the Conflict For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers. After World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire. But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state. A extended armed struggle followed, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998. Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at loggerheads. This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the conflict was over β a action that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. The two governments were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region. But diplomatic connections have later worsened again.