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Growing apprehensions exist regarding the chance of military engagement between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a military clash broke out in which numerous people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Claims

Amid persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has displayed completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, commented lately in an conversation that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, ending with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a move that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

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

Yet ties have since broken down once more.