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Growing concerns exist regarding the possibility of armed conflict involving East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

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

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

Eritrean authorities warned on 16 September that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Border

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war followed, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a statement that the war was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated again.