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Mounting worries have emerged about the chance of military engagement between East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has intensified in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his country's sea access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the intention to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that attempts to validate "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Ground

There have been few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The head of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the ruler cancelled this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a declaration that the hostilities was finished – a decision that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

However relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.