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Increasing apprehensions have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people were killed.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

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

Past Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war followed, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a statement that the war was finished – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

However relations have since broken down again.