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Increasing apprehensions have emerged about the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

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

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry alerted on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations remained at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the hostilities was over – a decision that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.