🔗 Share this article Intensifying Verbal Conflict Between Ethiopian Government and Eritrea Sparks Concerns of Armed Clash Mounting apprehensions are present over the chance of warfare involving East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the last month. The Ethiopian government and Eritrea cooperated in the armed struggle in northern Ethiopia but they have since fallen out. What Has Ethiopian Officials Said? Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce verbal exchange. PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored. Relations between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked. In 1998, a military clash started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed. Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the wish to capture it through military means. In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow". Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force". Eritrea's Response to the Statements Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel. He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back previous domains. Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Defense Preparations on the Border Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries. Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases. The head of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents". Previous Roots of the Conflict For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers. After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire. Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state. A extended internal conflict ensued, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993. For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998. Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads. This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the war was over – a move that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region. But ties have later worsened once more.