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Increasing concerns exist about the potential of warfare among East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the intention to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

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

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on mid-September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the army was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor terminated this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's recent civil war in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.