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Mounting worries have emerged over the chance of military engagement among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

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

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war ensued, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a declaration that the conflict was over – a action that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous civil war in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.