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Increasing worries exist regarding the potential of warfare between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

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

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities warned on recently that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Border

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

But relations have since broken down anew.