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Mounting concerns have emerged about the possibility of armed conflict between Horn of Africa neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has escalated in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it landlocked.

Five years later, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrean southern port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "error" of being denied passage to the sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Answer to the Statements

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are no reports of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the two countries.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at different defense facilities.

The head of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Background of the Dispute

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian rulers.

Following World War II, it was then controlled by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

However in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this agreement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A thirty-year civil war ensued, concluding with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, resulting in war in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two signed a announcement that the war was finished – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The two governments were then allies in Ethiopia's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

Yet relations have later worsened once more.