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Growing worries have emerged regarding the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

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

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in 2023 that his government's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war started in which numerous people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that efforts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Conflict

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a move that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated again.