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Mounting worries are present over the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has provoked a heated rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Relations between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the boundary - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "expansionism" – a policy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

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

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

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

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year internal conflict followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Though this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a statement that the conflict was over – a move that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.