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Increasing apprehensions have emerged regarding the potential of armed conflict among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

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

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "corrected soon".

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

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

In the face of continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry warned on recently that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

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

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a announcement that the war was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet relations have later worsened again.