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Growing worries are present about the potential of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has escalated in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's access to the sea was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have often been tense. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopian Government

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean southern port of Assab – about 60km from the border - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of major military movements in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of personnel division of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Previous Origins of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After World War II, it was then administered by the British administration before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this agreement and the region became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

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

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders endorsed a declaration that the war was finished – a move that gained the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's recent internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.