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Growing concerns are present regarding the possibility of military engagement among Horn of Africa neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a intense rhetorical conflict.

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

Relations between the neighboring nations have frequently been strained. Following a long-standing struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

In 1998, a border war started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted control of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – about 60km from the border - and hinted at the desire to take it by force.

In early September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Claims

Despite ongoing threats from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a approach of claiming back lost territory.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Region

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of young people" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Dispute

For more than half a century from 1890, Eritrea was ruled by colonial powers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British military before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

But in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor ended this system and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war followed, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the exact location of their common border, causing hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders endorsed a announcement that the war was concluded – a decision that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The both administrations were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 armed struggle in the northern region.

However relations have since broken down again.