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Increasing apprehensions exist regarding the chance of military engagement involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

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

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on mid-September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

Currently, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The director of staff section of the defense force, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war occurred, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, causing war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a declaration that the war was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet ties have since broken down anew.