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Growing apprehensions have emerged about the potential of armed conflict among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the military, the officer, commented lately in an conversation that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous civil war in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down again.