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Mounting apprehensions are present over the possibility of military engagement involving East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Tension

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this system and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a referendum in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the war was over – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Yet ties have later worsened again.