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Growing apprehensions are present about the potential of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his country's sea access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, making it landlocked.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and implied the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Tension

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was concluded – a move that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.