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Increasing worries are present about the chance of military engagement involving East African countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational language has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

Subsequently, a border war started in which numerous people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Despite persistent warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been confined to short statements on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities cautioned on mid-September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, the officer, recently said in an discussion that the military was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Roots of the Tension

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

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

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war followed, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was over – a move that earned Abiy the international recognition.

The two governments were then partners in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

Yet ties have later worsened again.