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Growing concerns exist about the chance of warfare among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrean southern port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has displayed training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Tension

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a move that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in Tigray.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.