1. Ethiopian planes carried out a series of bombing raids on civilian sites in Eritrea yesterday. At dawn yesterday, two Antonov bombers attempted to bombard the Assab airport. The bombing raids were not successful. The planes were forced to fly at high altitude because of Eritrean artillery fire from anti-aircraft units of the Eritrean Defense Force. Independent verifiers on the ground at the time confirmed that the planes dropped twelve bombs, none of which hit their target.

Further west in Tsorona, Ethiopian Antonovs bombed villages outlying Tsorona yesterday evening. A bombing raid in that area between 8:50 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. destroyed homes and property in the village of Mai Aini, killing four civilians and leaving several others wounded.

A statement from the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs today described the latest moves by Ethiopia as "a debacle" and said, "the level of desperation of the TPLF regime is indeed manifested by, among other things, their recourse to continuous air bombing of civilian targets in violation of the moratorium on air strikes." The statement said, "while these illegal and inhumane acts of the Ethiopian regime are well known, the international community has not to date taken any measures to deplore and deter them." The statement added that while Eritrea has "opted to pursue a strategy of passive defense ... firmly convinced that such a posture will ultimately enhance the prospects of a peaceful solution, it has no option but to take appropriate measures of deterrence against these adventures."

Ethiopian planes have been bombing civilian sites in Tsorona, Mereb-Setit and along the Burie front line. A family of five was killed in the village of Deda Lalai in a February 9 bombing raid. Ethiopian shelling in Adi Qwala and around Zalambessa resulted in the deaths of 22 civilians and injured scores of others.