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Growing concerns are present about the chance of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrea's Response to the Claims

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a policy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a statement that the war was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

However relations have since broken down anew.