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Growing apprehensions are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in last year that his country's maritime access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea ignored.

Relations between the neighboring nations have regularly been difficult. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive Red Sea coastline, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, making it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict erupted in which over a hundred thousand people lost their lives.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing entry to the sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for sea access describing it as "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, state television has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, the territory was governed by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war occurred, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly 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.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a announcement that the conflict was concluded – a move that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down once more.