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Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the chance of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that attempts to justify "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

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

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two signed a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.