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Growing worries have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and implied the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

There have been no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a statement that the conflict was over – a move that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

Yet relations have since broken down again.