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Growing concerns exist about the potential of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry warned on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

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

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, causing war in 1998.

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

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a declaration that the war was finished – a move that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have later worsened once more.