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Increasing concerns have emerged over the potential of armed conflict between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on mid-September that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the war was over – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.