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Mounting apprehensions are present over the possibility of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

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

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the intention to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Amid continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the military, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Tension

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the ruler ended this system and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war occurred, ending with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.