🔗 Share this article Rising War of Words Involving Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Sparks Fears of Conflict Mounting concerns exist about the chance of warfare involving East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has escalated in the last month. Ethiopia and Eritrea worked together in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have subsequently disagreed. What Has Ethiopia Declared? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict. The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Ties between the both governments have often been tense. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access. Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed. Recent Statements from Ethiopian Officials Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the wish to take it by force. Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow". Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force". Eritrea's Answer to the Threats Amid continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking previous domains. Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Preparations on the Region Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The director of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our opponents". Historical Origins of the Conflict For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers. Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire. However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A extended armed struggle occurred, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998. Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads. This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a statement that the war was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award. The two governments were then partners in the country's recent internal conflict in Tigray. But relations have later worsened anew.