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Mounting concerns are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as aggressive rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for entry to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his government's maritime access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and implied the wish to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Statements

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopian requests for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of reclaiming lost territory.

The information ministry cautioned on mid-September that moves to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Border

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has shown completion events of many recruits at various military training camps.

The director of human resources department of the armed forces, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before becoming a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this system and Eritrea became fully incorporated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then endorsed by Eritreans in a referendum in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a statement that the war was finished – a decision that won Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down anew.