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Mounting worries have emerged regarding the possibility of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a military clash started in which numerous people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the border - and suggested the intention to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on 16 September that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Ground

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has displayed training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, the officer, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

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

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

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

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

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the war was concluded – a action that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down again.