Press Release (9:50 a.m. LT)
Around 4,000 Ethiopian Soldiers Put Out of Action

The TPLF launched an attack on the right (west) flank of the Mereb-Setit front on Friday which was quickly repulsed. Yesterday, the TPLF opened small scale attacks on the central and right flanks of the same front.

Aggregate Ethiopian losses in the two day fighting were 850 Ethiopian soldiers killed, 3,100 wounded and thirteen taken prisoner.

The TPLF attacks appear to be motivated by a bid to reverse the serious defeats that its army has suffered on the central flank of the Mereb-Setit front in recent battles (May 22-26 and June 10-16 respectively). Especially in the last round of fighting, the Ethiopian army suffered huge losses with over 18,000 soldiers killed, and four MiG-23 fighter aircraft and an MI-35 helicopter gunship destroyed. The TPLF regime was compelled to deny these defeats and publish imaginary figures of presumed Eritrean casualties days later.

The TPLF army has bombed the outskirts of Assab yesterday and this morning in an apparent attempt to divert attention from the heavy defeats that its infantry are suffering on the ground. There were no human casualties or damage to property in either of the bombings which seemed to target the civilian airport of Assab.

Fighting had resumed on the right flank of the Mereb-Setit front at press time.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 27 June 1999