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Increasing worries are present about the potential of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a intense war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in 2023 that his nation's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

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

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has shown training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor terminated this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long civil war followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a declaration that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.