Ethiopian Army attacks alleged rebel bases in Eritrea
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
March 15, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian forces on Thursday carried out cross-border attacks against rebel bases inside neighbouring Eritrea.
The attacks come after Eritrea-based Ethiopian Afar rebels ambushed an international group of tourists in the remote Afar region of Ethiopia in January.
Ethiopia claimed the rebels were operating on the behest of Eritrea.
Assailants killed five tourists of German, Hungarian and Austrian nationals. The gunmen kidnapped two Germans and two Ethiopians, who were released in March, three weeks after being abducted.
The the UN estimates that as of March 2000, over 370,000 Eritreans and 350,000 Ethiopians had been affected by the war.
The Ethiopia government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal, speaking at a news conference today said the military operation was aimed to cripple Eritrea’s continued attempts to destabilise Ethiopia through the use of mercenaries.
However, Kemal stressed that the attack does not “constitute a direct military confrontation between armies.”
Ethiopia’s defence spokesperson, Gebrekidan Gebremariam, told reporters that their forces have destroyed three bases; Ramid, Gelahbe and Gimbi, where, he claimed, Eritrea trains subversive forces.
The military official vowed that the army would continue with similar military action until the “Eritrean-backed’ subversive activities are stopped.
The Ethiopian officials said details of attack will be made public soon.
Addis Ababa routinely accuses the regime in Asmara of arming and training rebels to destabilise Ethiopia, an allegation the red sea nation denies.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. With their border dispute not yet resolved the countries remain at loggerheads.
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) claims it is struggling against political marginalization by Addis Ababa and to the unity of the Afar peoples in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.
In 2007, ARDUF kidnapped five Europeans and eight Ethiopians from same Afar region and took them to Eritrean territory where they hold them hostage before releasing them weeks later.
A leaked diplomatic cable from the UK embassy in Asmara, on the 2007 abduction indicated that the UK representatives believed that Eritrea was not colluding with ARDUF.
(ST)