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Mounting apprehensions exist about the potential of military engagement involving East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to concise remarks on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities warned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict followed, ending with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a move that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down again.