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Growing apprehensions exist regarding the chance of military engagement between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has sparked a fierce verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

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

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on 16 September that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Region

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

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

After World War II, it was then controlled by the British military before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler ended this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the war was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then cooperators in Ethiopia's recent civil war in the northern region.

Yet ties have later worsened once more.