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Increasing worries exist over the potential of armed conflict between Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a heated rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in 2023 that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Relations between the two countries have regularly been difficult. Following a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the intention to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities warned on recently that efforts to justify "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 Ground

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

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

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

After World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before turning into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict followed, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the hostilities was finished – a move that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet diplomatic connections have later worsened anew.