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Growing worries exist over the chance of armed conflict among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

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

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Statements

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on X from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

Eritrean authorities alerted on 16 September that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

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

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

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the war was finished – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.