- guardian.co.uk, Thursday May 18 2000 18.34 BST
More than 200,000 Eritreans are fleeing the area after an advance by Ethiopian troops in a conflict reminiscent of the trench warfare of the first world war. Eritrea insists it made a strategic withdrawal, but presidential advisor Yemane Gebremeskel admitted hundreds of thousands of people were now leaving the area.
"The town of Barentu was evacuated prior to the withdrawal of the army," he said. "According to our relief organisation ... over 200,000 people from the Barentu area are heading east." Barentu, about 45 miles inside Eritrea, had served as a major command centre and supply route for Eritrea's army on the western Badme front.
Ethiopian forces launched a huge offensive last Friday and targeted Barentu in their drive to recapture territory they say has been occupied by Eritrea since May 1998, when a border dispute and trade policy differences exploded into war. "Losing Barentu is losing the whole western part of Eritrea," Ethiopian government spokesman Haile Kiros said.
He said the main objective was to secure the Barentu area and deploy troops and equipment eastwards to two other war fronts where Eritrean forces still occupy disputed territory. "We will keep enough troops here to defend the area and others will move to liberate the rest of our occupied territory," he said.
The UN security council yesterday imposed an arms embargo against the two countries for a year, but diplomats said the weapons ban would have little effect as both have plenty of weapons at their disposal. "Both sides have spent the last two years beefing up their armies," one diplomat said. "They have enough weapons to last for at least a year anyway."
The conflict has made it difficult for western aid agencies trying to provide relief for a region stricken by drought that could claim millions of lives. Ethiopia insists it was a victim of Eritrean aggression at the start of the war and blames the failure of all peace initiatives on Eritrean intransigence and the UN's refusal to take sides.
Useful links
Ethiopia: special report
Africa News online - Ethiopia
Africa News online - Eritrea
