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Increasing worries have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a intense war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

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

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the wish to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was governed by colonial powers.

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

Yet in 1962 the ruler terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle followed, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

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

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.