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Mounting worries are present regarding the chance of armed conflict between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which numerous people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on X from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that attempts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

There have been no reports of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Past Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the conflict was over – a decision that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down again.