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Increasing worries have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict involving East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

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

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the wish to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on X from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" 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 Border

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has shown completion events of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle occurred, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

However relations have subsequently deteriorated again.