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Growing concerns are present about the potential of military engagement among Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

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

Eritrea's Response to the Statements

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities warned on 16 September that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Ground

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed training completions of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of personnel division of the military, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Past Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle occurred, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations stayed at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have later worsened again.