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Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement between Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

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

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on recently that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a action that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.