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Increasing apprehensions exist over the possibility of armed conflict involving East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a action that won Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.