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Mounting concerns have emerged over the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a heated rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war broke out in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

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

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the military, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.