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Increasing concerns are present regarding the potential of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has intensified in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the sea coast through Eritrea has triggered a heated war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in last year that his country's sea access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Subsequently, a border war started in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the intention to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

In the face of ongoing threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking former lands.

The information ministry warned on recently that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the border areas between the both nations.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "many thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Dispute

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

After the end of Italian rule, it was then managed by the British military before becoming a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle occurred, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at odds.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in the country's recent internal conflict in Tigray.

But relations have since broken down once more.