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Increasing concerns exist over the possibility of warfare among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his country's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

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

However, in the country, national TV has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The two agreed to a declaration that the conflict was over – a decision that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then cooperators in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

Yet ties have since broken down once more.