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Growing concerns are present regarding the potential of armed conflict among East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated war of words.

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

Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on X from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

The information ministry warned on recently that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the conflict was over – a action that earned Abiy the international recognition.

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

However relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.