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Mounting apprehensions are present regarding the chance of armed conflict among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means.

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

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

Amid persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of many recruits at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war followed, ending with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly 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 shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.