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Mounting concerns are present about the possibility of warfare among Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Despite ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking previous domains.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

However, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Past Background of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle followed, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing war in 1998.

Although this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two agreed to a statement that the war was over – a move that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous civil war in the northern region.

However ties have later worsened once more.