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Increasing apprehensions have emerged over the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming lost territory.

Eritrean authorities warned on recently that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The director of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

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

A three-decade long civil war ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet relations have later worsened anew.