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Increasing apprehensions are present about the possibility of armed conflict between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted 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 "irredentism" – a policy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that attempts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Conflict

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

Following World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a decision that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down again.