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Increasing concerns exist about the chance of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a military clash erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

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

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

In the face of continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences 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 few indications of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Conflict

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at in dispute.

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

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But ties have later worsened again.