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Growing worries are present regarding the possibility of armed conflict between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrean Response to the Threats

In the face of ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

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

However, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The leader of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Dispute

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

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a move that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in Tigray.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.