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Growing worries have emerged over the chance of armed conflict among East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war followed, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. 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 Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a statement that the conflict was over – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

However relations have since broken down again.