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Mounting worries exist about the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which numerous people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

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

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

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

So far, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a declaration that the war was over – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.