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Mounting apprehensions have emerged regarding the chance of armed conflict among East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a territorial conflict broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that efforts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the two countries.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war followed, ending with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.