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Increasing concerns have emerged about the potential of armed conflict between Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as hostile language has escalated in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

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

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have often been tense. Following a prolonged struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it landlocked.

In 1998, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

On 1 September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "addressed soon".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Claims

In the face of continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a policy of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on 16 September that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Border

So far, there are little evidence of major military movements in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Conflict

For decades from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the UK forces before evolving into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended armed struggle occurred, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their common border, causing conflict in 1998.

Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at odds.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a declaration that the conflict was concluded – a action that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's recent civil war in the northern region.

However ties have later worsened anew.