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Increasing apprehensions have emerged about the potential of warfare involving East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

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

Previous Origins of the Conflict

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

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

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war ensued, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's recent civil war in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened once more.