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Growing concerns exist regarding the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on mid-September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

After World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war occurred, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the conflict was finished – a move that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.