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Growing apprehensions exist over the possibility of military engagement involving Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Relations between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

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

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, the territory was administered by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

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

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a action that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

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

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated again.