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Increasing concerns exist regarding the chance of military engagement among Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

There have been little evidence of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a vote 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 exact location of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a statement that the war was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

However ties have subsequently deteriorated again.