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Increasing concerns exist over the possibility of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for access to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a heated verbal exchange.

PM Abiy Ahmed first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a border war erupted in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Current Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and implied the wish to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

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

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a policy of retaking former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on mid-September that moves to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Preparations on the Border

There have been little evidence of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the both nations.

However, in the country, state television has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Tension

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the UK forces before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long internal conflict occurred, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Though this finished in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President the president. The both leaders signed a announcement that the war was over – a action that won Abiy the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

But relations have later worsened once more.