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Mounting apprehensions are present about the potential of armed conflict among East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

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

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that efforts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

But relations have later worsened once more.