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Mounting apprehensions have emerged regarding the possibility of armed conflict between Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

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

Eritrea's Answer to the Statements

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was governed by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two agreed to a announcement that the war was finished – a action that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.