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Growing concerns have emerged regarding the chance of armed conflict between Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

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

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on X from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

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

Military Movements on the Border

There have been no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Past Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a action that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet ties have later worsened once more.