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Mounting concerns have emerged over the possibility of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a intense war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Amid persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that attempts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Region

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

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Past Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor terminated this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite 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 specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a declaration that the conflict was finished – a action that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

However ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.