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Mounting concerns exist about the possibility of warfare among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

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

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that attempts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

There have been no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, causing war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the conflict was finished – a move that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened again.