Ethiopia, Eritrea caught in war or words
February 24 2000 at 06:47PM
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia on Thursday said its forces had clashed with those of
Eritrea on Wednesday, but blamed Asmara for breaking the eight-month lull in
fighting and said the front was now calm.
Late on Wednesday, the Eritrean government accused Ethiopia of launching an
attack on the Burie front, 75 kilometres southwest of the port of Assab,
which lies close to the Djiboutian border.
"There were skirmishes initiated by the Eritrean army yesterday (Wednesday)
at dawn at the Burie front," Ethiopian government spokesperson Salome
Tadesse told a news conference.
"They started it. It stopped quickly. Not big scale as they tried to put
it," she said.
"Military positions in the area are currently quiet," she added.
On Wednesday, Tadesse's Eritrean counterpart, Yemane Ghebremeskel, said an
"Ethiopian brigade, composed of between 2 500 and 3 000 soldiers, attacked
the extreme left flank of the Burie front".
"They are not trustworthy," Tadesse said of the Eritreans.
"The Eritrean army initiated skirmishes and they tried to make it look as if
Ethiopia started it. This is not the first time," she said.
"By attacking first and then blaming Ethiopia for initiating the military
engagement," the Eritrean government hopes the international community will
be deceived, Tadesse said.
"Such deceptive tactics only serve to obstruct the peace process and once
again demonstrate Eritrea's untrustworthiness as a negotiating partner," she
said.
"It has also been the pattern to allege that Ethiopia is planning to attack
before Eritrea launches a military offensive," Tadesse added.
Eritrea said on Wednesday that the fighting claimed more than 100 Ethiopian
lives and that four Ethiopian troops and some light weaponry had been
captured.
The latest round of fighting in a war that began in May 1998 took place as
envoys from the United States and from the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU), which has played a leading mediating role, conducted shuttle
diplomacy in a vain effort to avert precisely this eventuality and to
encourage the implementation of an OAU peace plan, a part of which Ethiopia
has deemed unsatisfactory.
The Burie clash "shouldn't be a problem" for the envoys' mission, Tadesse
said, adding that there were "no repercussions because we haven't started it
but they attacked us".
The envoys, Anthony Lake and Ahmed Ouyahia, were due to hold separate
meetings on Thursday afternoon with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,
according to a government source.
Since the start of the confict, tens of thousands of troops have been killed
on both sides. - Sapa-AFP