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Growing worries are present regarding the possibility of warfare between Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his government's sea access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which numerous people were killed.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Statements

Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

However, in the country, national TV has shown training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the military, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Conflict

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

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the ruler ended this system and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the conflict was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down anew.