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Increasing worries have emerged about the possibility of armed conflict between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

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

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

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

However, in the country, government media has shown training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, ending with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a statement that the conflict was finished – a action that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.