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Growing concerns are present about the chance of armed conflict among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a intense rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the desire to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Amid ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

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

Security Activities on the Region

So far, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Tension

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

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the war was finished – a decision that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then allies in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

However relations have later worsened once more.