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Mounting concerns have emerged over the possibility of warfare between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

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

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "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 Border

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Tension

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved 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 precise positioning of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two agreed to a declaration that the conflict was finished – a action that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's previous civil war in Tigray.

However ties have since broken down anew.