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Increasing worries are present regarding the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a intense war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict broke out in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back previous domains.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Past Background of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war occurred, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the war was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous civil war in Tigray.

However relations have later worsened anew.