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Growing concerns have emerged regarding the chance of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been confined to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

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

Security Preparations on the Region

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Past Origins of the Conflict

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was finished – a move that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

Yet relations have later worsened again.