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Growing apprehensions are present regarding the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in the previous year that his government's sea access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on X from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Region

There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

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

The director of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

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

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

But relations have later worsened again.