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Mounting concerns exist over the possibility of armed conflict between Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a border war started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Amid continuous threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that attempts to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Region

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

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the military, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Previous Origins of the Tension

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

After World War II, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, leading to war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the war was concluded – a move that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

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

But diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.