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Increasing worries are present over the potential of warfare among Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in 2023 that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

There have been few indications of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an conversation that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated again.