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Mounting worries are present regarding the possibility of armed conflict between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the military, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two endorsed a declaration that the conflict was over – a decision that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.