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Increasing apprehensions have emerged regarding the possibility of warfare between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a long-standing struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

In the face of continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.