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Growing apprehensions have emerged about the possibility of warfare between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has shown training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the war was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in the country's previous civil war in Tigray.

However relations have since broken down anew.