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Mounting apprehensions have emerged over the possibility of warfare among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

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

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on X from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

So far, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has shown completion events of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Conflict

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

After World War II, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the conflict was concluded – a action that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's recent internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated again.