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Growing concerns have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year 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. After a prolonged battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war erupted in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to concise remarks on X from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry warned on recently that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Border

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

However, in the country, government media has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war occurred, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a decision that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened again.