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Mounting worries exist regarding the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's sea access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Five years later, a territorial conflict broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a announcement that the war was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down once more.