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Growing worries exist about the possibility of warfare among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Past Roots of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders signed a statement that the conflict was over – a action that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.