🔗 Share this article Intensifying War of Words Between Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Sparks Anxieties of Armed Clash Growing apprehensions exist about the possibility of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has ratcheted up in recent weeks. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea cooperated in the internal conflict in northern Ethiopia but they have later become estranged. What Did Ethiopia Said? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange. Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea ignored. Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea. Five years later, a military clash started in which numerous people died. Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily. In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force". Eritrea's Answer to the Statements In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to short statements on X from Communications Head the minister. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of claiming back former lands. Eritrean authorities warned on mid-September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Activities on the Region Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries. However, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies". Previous Origins of the Conflict For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers. After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia. But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state. A extended armed struggle followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998. Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at odds. This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize. The both administrations were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region. However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.