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Growing apprehensions are present about the possibility of warfare involving East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a intense war of words.

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

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

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

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has broadcast completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Conflict

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this agreement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended 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 endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.