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Growing concerns have emerged about the potential of military engagement involving East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in 2023 that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the hostilities was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.