🔗 Share this article Escalating War of Words Involving Ethiopia and Eritrean Government Sparks Fears of Armed Clash Mounting concerns have emerged regarding the possibility of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in recent weeks. Ethiopia and The Eritrean government cooperated in the civil war in northern Ethiopia but they have subsequently disagreed. What Has Ethiopia Said? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict. The Ethiopian leader previously announced in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea dismissed. Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked. In 1998, a military clash started in which numerous people were killed. Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to take it by force. In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "usingæ¦åŠ›". Eritrean Response to the Claims In the face of ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister. He has rejected Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking former lands. Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Preparations on the Border So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries. However, in the country, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases. The leader of human resources department of the military, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies". Previous Roots of the Tension For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers. Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia. Yet in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia. A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993. Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998. Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors stayed at in dispute. This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the war was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award. The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region. However diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.