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Increasing apprehensions are present over the possibility of armed conflict involving East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

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

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on X from Information Minister the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Region

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two endorsed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down once more.