🔗 Share this article Rising Rhetorical Battle Involving Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Triggers Concerns of Conflict Mounting worries exist regarding the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in recent weeks. Ethiopia and Eritrea worked together in the civil war in northern Ethiopia but they have later become estranged. What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared? Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words. The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed. Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked. In 1998, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people died. Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to seize it militarily. In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow". The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force". Eritrea's Answer to the Statements In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G.. The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains. The information ministry warned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Preparations on the Ground There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations. Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps. The leader of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents". Historical Origins of the Dispute For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers. After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A extended internal conflict occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing war in 1998. Though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads. This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a declaration that the war was finished – a decision that gained Abiy the international recognition. The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous internal conflict in Tigray. But diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.