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Growing worries exist over the possibility of warfare between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a military clash broke out in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has broadcast completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, recently said in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Dispute

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

After World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle followed, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a decision that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.