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Mounting concerns exist about the chance of warfare between Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict occurred, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a announcement that the conflict was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet relations have since broken down again.