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Mounting apprehensions have emerged about the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash started in which numerous people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

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

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming previous domains.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that moves to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has displayed completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

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

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two endorsed a statement that the war was over – a decision that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated again.