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Increasing worries have emerged over the chance of warfare involving Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as aggressive discourse has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's sea access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the both governments have often been tense. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people were killed.

Latest Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

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

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to short statements on social media from Communications Head Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Border

There have been little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The leader of staff section of the military, the officer, recently said in an conversation that the army was in a "strong stance" as "many thousands of recruits" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler terminated this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they fell out over the exact location of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Though this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two agreed to a announcement that the hostilities was over – a move that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in Tigray.

But relations have since broken down again.