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Growing apprehensions are present about the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in the country, national TV has shown training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

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

Past Origins of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year internal conflict ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at odds.

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

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.