🔗 Share this article Intensifying War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Raises Anxieties of Military Confrontation Mounting worries exist over the possibility of armed conflict involving East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the last month. Ethiopia and The Eritrean government worked together in the civil war in Tigray but they have since fallen out. What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange. Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected. Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea. In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people lost their lives. Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the wish to take it by force. In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "usingæ¦åŠ›". Eritrean Reaction to the Claims Despite continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains. The information ministry alerted on recently that efforts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Region So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations. Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps. The head of staff section of the military, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies". Previous Origins of the Tension For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was administered by Italian rulers. Following World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before evolving into a federated part of Ethiopia. But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A thirty-year internal conflict ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998. Though this concluded 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 both leaders endorsed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. The two governments were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region. Yet relations have since broken down once more.