http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/significant-casualties-in-eritrea-ethiopia-clash-20160613
'Significant' casualties in Eritrea-Ethiopia clash
2016-06-13 18:06
Addis Ababa - Arch-rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea traded blame on Monday
for a border battle in which "significant" casualties were reported,
one of the worst clashes since the end of a 1998-2000 border war.
"There were significant casualties on both sides, but more on the
Eritrean side," Ethiopian government spokesperson Getachew Reda told
AFP.
He said the battle that began on Sunday was one of the most serious in
recent years, noting that while the two sides had exchanged gun fire
in the past, this clash was on a far larger scale. The fighting had
reportedly calmed on Monday.
"We used to take precautionary measures against this regime, but this
time was much more important in terms of magnitude than the measures
that were taken so far," Getachew added.
Both sides blamed the other.
Ethiopia on Sunday "unleashed an attack against Eritrea on the Tsorona
Central Front", Eritrea's ministry of information said in a statement.
Getachew instead claimed the fighting started when Eritrean artillery
fired shells across the border.
"Eritrean forces started shelling our positions, including civilian
ambulances, and we responded," said Getachew, who had initially
claimed no knowledge of the fighting.
Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after three decades of
war, but returned to battle in 1998-2000.
Fortified frontier
The two remain bitter enemies, with their troops still eyeing each
other along the fortified frontier. Tensions are never far from the
surface.
"The purpose and ramifications of this attack are not clear," Eritrea
said, adding it "will issue further statements on the unfolding
situation".
Eritrea and Ethiopia have long traded accusations of attacks and of
backing rebels to needle each other.
In March 2012, Ethiopia attacked an Eritrean military base, accusing
the country of supporting "terrorist activities" on its territory.
In February, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of being behind anti-government
protests in the Oromia region last year which led to a violent
clampdown by the government in Addis Ababa.
The two countries remain at odds over the flashpoint town of Badme,
awarded to Eritrea by a United Nations-backed boundary commission, but
still controlled by Ethiopia.
It was not immediately possible to verify independently the scale of
the clashes and exact reason they started.
Eritrea's media is ranked below North Korea as worst in the world for
press freedom by Reporters Without Borders.
However, opposition Eritrean websites, run from abroad but with
contacts inside the country, reported there were clashes along the
border.
"Each side appears to be calling up reinforcement," Awate.com website reported.
The Asmarino website carried a statement from opposition campaigners
appealing for calm.
"The prospect of another war is inconceivable," the statement read.
Thousands of Eritreans risk their lives to flee the hard line regime
every month according to the UN, fleeing across the border into Sudan
and Ethiopia despite a shoot-to-kill policy along the frontier.
Those who escape describe crawling under razor wire, tiptoeing across
minefields or sneaking past armed border guards in their bid for
freedom.
Last week the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human
rights said the government of President Isaias Afwerki, in power since
1991, was guilty of systematic enslavement, forcible conscription and
other abuses.
Eritrea rejected the findings as "laughable."
Received on Mon Jun 13 2016 - 13:20:39 EDT