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Increasing worries exist regarding the possibility of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in 2023 that his government's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a military clash erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

Despite ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry alerted on 16 September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Ground

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

However, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast completion events of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Past Background of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war followed, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their shared boundary, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The two agreed to a declaration that the hostilities was over – a decision that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened once more.