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Increasing worries exist about the possibility of warfare between Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Tension

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a action that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated again.