🔗 Share this article

Growing concerns exist regarding the potential of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce war of words.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in 2023 that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people were killed.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

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

Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the conflict was finished – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.