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Increasing concerns exist over the possibility of military engagement among East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

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

Relations between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Claims

In the face of persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to brief comments on X from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea labeling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was governed by Italian rulers.

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

But in 1962 the ruler ended this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two endorsed a announcement that the conflict was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

Yet ties have since broken down once more.