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Mounting apprehensions are present over the potential of warfare among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

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

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the military, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.