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Increasing worries exist regarding the chance of armed conflict between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on X from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

Eritrean authorities warned on mid-September that attempts to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, state television has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Tension

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

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler ended this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the war was over – a move that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

However ties have subsequently deteriorated again.