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Increasing apprehensions are present over the possibility of armed conflict among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked.

Five years later, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the intention to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

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

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war ensued, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's previous internal conflict in Tigray.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.