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Mounting concerns are present about the possibility of warfare between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the desire to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

In the face of continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The two endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's previous civil war in Tigray.

However ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.