The heavy fighting in the Tsorena area of the Ethiopian Eritrea border subsided after the later retreated from a strategic location, a military source confided to HornAffairs.
The situation in Sheraro and Zalambesa areas remain highly tense and volatile.
A major fighting broke out between the two armies in Tsorena area on Sunday and continued until the evening, as HornAffairs reported yesterday.
It was probably the heaviest since the end of the 1998-2000 war between the two countries, given its scale in terms of time, space, and artillery.
The fighting continued last night and early morning today. Heavy artillery sound subsided in the afternoon, residents of nearby towns confirmed.
[The map is from opensource. The boundary lines may not be accurate.]
A military source informed HornAffairs, the Ethiopian troops captured a strategic location.
According to our source, the Ethiopian troops have been in control of the high points of “Inda-hawarya and Unashuak,” which is described as a mountain chain and natural defense. However, the low lying area in between was under Eritrean control “for years.” That undermined the Ethiopians position and created vulnerability. The Eritrean troops had fortified their hold with six round fortification and deep tunnels, he described.
Ethiopian troops were able to control the area in the weekend. The Eritrean mechanized company in charge of the area has surrendered, the source claimed. Ranking officers are among the captives.
It was not immediately clear whether the pause in the fighting was temporary.
Telephone in GerhuSernay, the main town of Ahferom woreda, near Tsorena, was inaccessible today morning. It was not clear whether it was hit by rocket or disconnected for security reasons. Most civilians in the northern section of the woreda evacuated in the weekend.
Elsewhere in Sheraro and Zalambesa, there has not been active fighting though troop movements have been observed as HornAffairs reported yesterday.
Eritrea claimed Ethiopia have “unleashed an attack” in a statement released yesterday at midnight.
The Ethiopian Communication Minister told Radio France International today that Eritrea started the fighting.
Please read previous report for details and specifics.
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Edit: The name oaf the Woreda(district) which we originally referred to as Kunin Kunito is actually called Ahferom. We regret the error.
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