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Increasing concerns exist regarding the possibility of warfare involving East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

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

However, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Dispute

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

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler terminated this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year internal conflict ensued, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, causing war in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a action that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's recent civil war in the northern region.

Yet relations have later worsened again.