Ethiopian troops in Eritrea 'kicking them while they're down'

May 17, 2000
Web posted at: 10:23 p.m. EDT (0523 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

SHEMBUKO, Eritrea (CNN) -- Ethiopian troops pushed deeper into Eritrea on Wednesday as the United Nations debated whether to impose an arms embargo on combatants in the Horn of Africa's 2-year-old war.

Peace talks held by the Organization of African Unity collapsed Friday. Since then, Ethiopia has breached Eritrean lines and advanced swiftly across the rocky plain in a campaign calculated to punish Eritrea.

Ethiopian officers say they plan to pursue Eritrea's military to a point where it is hoped Eritrea will reconsider any future military moves.

MESSAGE BOARD Horn of Africa

"What we want to do now is weaken the Eritrean army in every way, by killing soldiers or depriving them of weapons -- by kicking them when they're down," Ethiopian army Col. Gebrekidan Gebremariam said.

Senior officers say they are surprised how swiftly they routed thousands of Eritrean soldiers, who until last weekend guarded the rugged hillsides of Eritrea's western front.

"They tried to resist a little bit," Ethiopian army Col. Atakelti Berhe said. "But because we attacked from behind, it was difficult for them to defend themselves."

Ethiopian troops collected weapons and other abandoned items from Eritrean trenches Wednesday. Troops told CNN that numerous dead bodies remained in the trenches and bunkers they searched.

The war between the two nations began in May 1998. Tens of thousands of soldiers are thought to have been killed in World War I-style trench warfare in a conflict sparked by a border dispute and trade issues.

Ethiopian soldiers collect abandoned weapons from Eritrea's western front

Eritrea, however, was still fighting back Wednesday, using Soviet-era fighter jets to strike at Ethiopian troops.

Eritrea responded to Ethiopia's claims of victory by saying Ethiopian forces had suffered their heaviest losses to date, describing the scene on the Mereb-Setit front as a "massacre" site.

"The victory that Ethiopia is boasting about is proving illusory," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The United States is backing a U.N. Security Council resolution that would ban arms sales to the two countries. More than 9 million people in the two countries are on the brink of starvation because of a regional drought.

Council diplomats had hoped for a vote late Wednesday, but Russia -- which originally opposed the resolution -- had not yet agreed on a time limit for the ban.

The measure would come into effect immediately after a vote is taken, although enforcing the resolution would be difficult since it would depend primarily on countries policing themselves.

Correspondent Catherine Bond and Reuters contributed to this report.

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