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Increasing apprehensions exist over the chance of armed conflict involving East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

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

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite ongoing warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry cautioned on recently that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

However, in the country, government media has shown completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

The head of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Tension

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

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

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

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down once more.