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Growing apprehensions have emerged regarding the chance of armed conflict among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a military clash started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

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

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly 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, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a action that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.