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Mounting worries are present about the potential of warfare between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to brief comments on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that efforts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Region

There have been no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have subsequently deteriorated again.