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Mounting worries exist regarding the chance of armed conflict between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Region

There have been little evidence of major military movements in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the military, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

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

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened again.