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Growing worries exist regarding the chance of military engagement involving East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

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

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

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

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has shown training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of human resources department of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Past Origins of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long armed struggle followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

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

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a decision that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.