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

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, government media has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a action that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.