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Increasing apprehensions are present about the possibility of armed conflict between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrean Response to the Statements

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that efforts to validate "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".

Security Movements on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Past Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict occurred, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

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

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have since broken down again.