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Mounting apprehensions are present about the potential of military engagement between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile language has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his nation's sea access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the two countries have frequently been strained. After a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

Five years later, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Current Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have directly stated control of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

In the face of persistent challenges from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to concise remarks on online platforms from Information Minister the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea calling it "dangerous" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on 16 September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The director of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before evolving into a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the precise positioning of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this finished in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the war was concluded – a move that won the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

But ties have since broken down again.