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Mounting worries exist about the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in 2023 that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated control of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on recently that efforts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has broadcast completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the military, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Conflict

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

After World War II, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler ended this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle followed, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated again.