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Mounting concerns have emerged regarding the potential of armed conflict involving East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

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

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the military, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler ended this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle occurred, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a declaration that the conflict was over – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But relations have later worsened once more.