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Mounting apprehensions have emerged regarding the possibility of armed conflict among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

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

Five years later, a military clash started in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in the country's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.