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Mounting apprehensions are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been restricted to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea labeling it "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" 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 frontier regions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war ensued, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader the president. The two endorsed a declaration that the hostilities was concluded – a move that earned the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated anew.