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Growing worries have emerged regarding the chance of armed conflict between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

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

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

In the face of ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Region

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a move that won Abiy the prestigious award.

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

However relations have subsequently deteriorated again.