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Increasing apprehensions exist over the potential of warfare between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash started in which numerous people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the ruler terminated this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the war was over – a action that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down again.