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Increasing worries exist over the potential of warfare between Horn of Africa countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a fierce verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his country's sea access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea ignored.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive sea border, formally separated from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Five years later, a military clash started in which numerous people lost their lives.

Recent Comments from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and implied the desire to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "error" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Response to the Statements

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to brief comments on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople cautioned on mid-September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

So far, there are few indications of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, national TV has broadcast graduation ceremonies of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the military was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Historical Roots of the Dispute

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrean President President Isaias. The both leaders signed a statement that the conflict was finished – a move that won Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two governments were then partners in the country's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

But ties have later worsened anew.