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Growing worries are present over the potential of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in last year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been confined to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on 16 September that efforts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Region

So far, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year internal conflict ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Independence was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the war was over – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

Yet ties have later worsened once more.