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Growing worries have emerged over the chance of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive language has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash broke out in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid continuous threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has displayed completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The director of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

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

But in 1962 the ruler cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Sovereignty was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

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

Yet relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.