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Increasing worries exist regarding the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war erupted in which numerous people died.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle ensued, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to conflict in 1998.

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

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the hostilities was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet ties have later worsened again.