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Mounting concerns are present about the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a military clash started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict occurred, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a declaration that the war was over – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

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

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.