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Growing apprehensions exist regarding the potential of military engagement among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed completion events of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The head of staff section of the military, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

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

A three-decade long civil war occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a announcement that the hostilities was finished – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.