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Increasing concerns are present about the possibility of armed conflict among Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a intense verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the border - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon".

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

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Amid ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on 16 September that efforts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an discussion that the army 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 Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this system and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the conflict was finished – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet relations have since broken down once more.