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Increasing concerns are present about the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in last year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

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

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war occurred, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the hostilities was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

But relations have later worsened anew.