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Mounting worries have emerged over the potential of warfare among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his country's sea access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on X from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

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

The director of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have later worsened anew.