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Mounting worries exist about the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his country's access to the sea was an vital issue, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a military clash erupted in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Despite ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Region

Currently, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions 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 interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long civil war ensued, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

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

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a declaration that the war was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.