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Mounting concerns exist over the chance of warfare between Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which numerous people were killed.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war occurred, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a statement that the conflict was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.