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Growing worries have emerged regarding the chance of warfare between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a military clash started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to concise remarks on X from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, state television has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war occurred, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the war was over – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened again.