Press Release
Ethiopia's Invasion: Eritrea's Warning Ignored

In yet another clear indication of the TPLF's determination to disregard international condemnation and invade larger parts of Eritrea, the Ethiopian army launched separate attacks on Eritrean positions yesterday.

Ethiopian forces attacked Eritrean positions in Burie, 70 kilometers southwest of Assab, yesterday deploying about one brigade. The fighting was brief and Ethiopian troops were repulsed. Two hundred Ethiopian soldiers were killed or wounded and one Ethiopian tank was destroyed in the fighting.

At about the same time, the TPLF launched an attack on Eritrean positions in the far west at Omhajer. The invading army, which attacked from Humera, was pushed back and suffered serious losses there as well. Four hundred fifty soldiers were either killed or wounded, and eleven soldiers were captured. Neither Burie nor Omhajer are in disputed territory or, for that matter, anywhere near territory Ethiopia claims.

Ethiopian claims that its air force attacked and destroyed a military installation in Mendefera over the weekend are utterly fictitious. For one thing, this is the third time Ethiopia claims its forces have destroyed some military site in that town when, in fact, it has never done so. Moreover, Ethiopia's air force is known, not for striking military targets, but for its consistent targeting of civilians.

Eritrea has, since the outbreak of the conflict, warned that Ethiopia's intentions lay far beyond the peaceful resolution of a border dispute. Now, the TPLF's unchecked adventurism spells serious trouble for the region as a whole. Ethiopia is being allowed to pursue a dangerous agenda and even being encouraged by international nonchalance border on complicity. It is an unfortunate testimony to Ethiopia's inability to learn from the past. The invasion of sovereign Eritrea is ill advised and will have disastrous consequences for the regime in Addis Ababa.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 22 May 2000