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Increasing worries are present over the possibility of military engagement between East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister previously announced in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a border war erupted in which numerous people were killed.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and implied the intention to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Despite continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back previous domains.

Eritrean authorities alerted on mid-September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Region

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

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, the officer, commented lately in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

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

However in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict ensued, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders signed a declaration that the war was concluded – a move that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

However ties have since broken down once more.