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Mounting worries exist over the chance of armed conflict between Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the wish to take it by force.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

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

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on X from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, state television has shown training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Tension

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year internal conflict occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a statement that the hostilities was over – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's previous civil war in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated once more.