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Increasing concerns exist regarding the chance of military engagement involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a heated rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his country's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, making it without sea access.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

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

Following World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down anew.