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Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the potential of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

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

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Region

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war followed, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was finished – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's recent civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.