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Growing apprehensions have emerged about the potential of warfare between Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Answer to the Statements

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on recently that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

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

But in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a action that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.