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Increasing worries exist about the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and implied the intention to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Ground

There have been no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Background of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, ending with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the hostilities was over – a decision that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

But ties have since broken down once more.