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Increasing apprehensions exist regarding the potential of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a military clash started in which numerous people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

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

Eritrean authorities warned on 16 September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this system and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

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

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down once more.