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Growing concerns are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational language has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in last year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. After a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which numerous people died.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Border

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down again.