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Increasing worries are present regarding the possibility of armed conflict among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on mid-September that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet relations have later worsened once more.