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Mounting concerns exist over the chance of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

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

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle followed, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a referendum 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 exact location of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was finished – a move that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

However relations have since broken down again.