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Growing apprehensions are present over the potential of armed conflict between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

Five years later, a territorial conflict broke out in which numerous people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to brief comments on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Border

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war followed, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then allies in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.