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Mounting worries are present regarding the chance of military engagement among East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Stated?

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

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his government's access to the sea was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Amid ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on mid-September that moves to justify "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Region

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has shown training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Background of the Conflict

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

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this system and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two signed a declaration that the hostilities was finished – a action that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.