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Increasing concerns are present regarding the potential of armed conflict between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

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

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The director of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

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

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a statement that the conflict was over – a move that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then cooperators in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

But ties have later worsened again.