🔗 Share this article Intensifying War of Words Among Ethiopian Government and Eritrean Government Sparks Anxieties of Armed Clash Growing concerns are present about the possibility of warfare among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month. Ethiopia and Eritrea worked together in the internal conflict in northern Ethiopia but they have subsequently disagreed. What Did Ethiopia Declared? Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict. PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea ignored. Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea. In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed. Current Comments from Ethiopia's Government Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the wish to capture it through military means. In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow". The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "through military action". Eritrean Reaction to the Statements Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G.. Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back previous domains. The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached". Security Movements on the Ground Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of thousands of cadets at various military training camps. The head of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries". Historical Background of the Conflict For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers. After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia. Yet in 1962 the ruler cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state. A extended internal conflict followed, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993. Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to war in 1998. Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at in dispute. This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a decision that earned Abiy the prestigious award. The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region. However diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.