🔗 Share this article Rising War of Words Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Raises Anxieties of Military Confrontation Increasing concerns exist over the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational language has escalated in the past few weeks. The Ethiopian government and The Eritrean government cooperated in the armed struggle in Tigray but they have later become estranged. What Has Ethiopian Officials Said? Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words. The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked. Five years later, a military clash broke out in which numerous people were killed. Current Comments from Ethiopian Government Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the wish to capture it through military means. Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "using武力". Eritrea's Response to the Statements In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G.. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking previous domains. The information ministry warned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Military Movements on the Ground There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations. However, in Ethiopia, state television has shown completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases. The director of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries". Past Origins of the Dispute For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers. After World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire. However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state. A three-decade long internal conflict followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in hostilities in 1998. Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at odds. This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a statement that the conflict was concluded – a decision that gained Abiy the international recognition. The neighboring states were then allies in the country's recent civil war in Tigray. Yet ties have later worsened anew.