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Mounting worries exist over the possibility of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has shown training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the military, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to conflict in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a decision that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's recent civil war in Tigray.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.