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Growing worries are present about the potential of armed conflict among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a border war started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Statements

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on 16 September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

There have been no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, government media has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Conflict

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the war was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.