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Mounting apprehensions have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement between Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, ending with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the war was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's previous civil war in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.