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Increasing apprehensions have emerged about the chance of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by colonial powers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

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

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was finished – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened again.