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Growing concerns are present regarding the possibility of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the intention to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

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

Military Activities on the Region

So far, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Dispute

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

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

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

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet ties have later worsened anew.