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Growing worries have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive language has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and implied the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

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

However, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle followed, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a statement that the war was concluded – a decision that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

But ties have subsequently deteriorated again.