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Growing concerns have emerged regarding the possibility of warfare among East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce war of words.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Statements

In the face of continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on X from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of human resources department of the military, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

But ties have later worsened anew.