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Increasing concerns exist about the possibility of armed conflict among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

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

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

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

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the war was finished – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's recent civil war in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.