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Mounting concerns have emerged over the possibility of armed conflict involving Horn of Africa neighbours, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has intensified in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an crucial concern, comments that Eritrea rejected.

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have publicly asserted sovereignty of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and implied the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing access to the sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "addressed tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Threats

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been limited to short statements on social media from Communications Head the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that moves to validate "obvious provocation" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Activities on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "numerous of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Previous Background of the Conflict

For over fifty years from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

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

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

A extended civil war followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their mutual frontier, causing war in 1998.

Although this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that won the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then allies in the country's recent armed struggle in Tigray.

But relations have subsequently deteriorated once more.