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Growing worries have emerged about the chance of military engagement between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

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

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

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down again.