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Growing worries exist about the chance of military engagement among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive language has escalated in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrea has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and implied the desire to take it by force.

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

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Threats

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming previous domains.

Government spokespeople alerted on 16 September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries.

However, in the country, state television has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

However in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the two nations continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two agreed to a statement that the war was over – a decision that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However ties have since broken down anew.