Ethiopia denies Eritrean statements
Ethiopia-Eritrea, Politics, 6/29/2000

An official in the Ethiopian government denied on Wednesday news reported by Eritrea that some 110,000 Ethiopian soldiers were killed or wounded in the lines of the Ethiopian army during the attack it had launched against Eritrea on June between 12 and 18, according to what Amara announced on Tuesday.

AFP quoted one official for the Ethiopian foreign ministry as saying that these are "mere numbers," noting that halting the capability of 110,000 soldiers from fighting means that one third of the army has become out of the battle. He noted that the Eritrea officials always try to exaggerate, and this is built on their conception that they are compensating their military defeat, SANA reported.

Eritrea's defense minister Sabhat Afram announced on Monday that almost 110,000 Ethiopian soldiers were killed or wounded during the recent battles between the two warring states since May 1998 following a border disputes.

Worthy mentioning that Ethiopia and Addis Ababa signed on June 18 an agreement to halt fighting. The agreement which was signed in Algiers states the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces from the Eritrea's territories, deployment of UN peace keeping force in a sector extended along 25 Kilometers inside the Eritrea's territories along the borders between the two countries.

Meantime, the two sides continue to trade accusations about the other's atrocities during and before the start of the fighting.

Previous Stories:
  War victims between Ethiopia and Eritrea   (6/28/2000)
  Ethiopia stresses an attack against its embassy in Asmara   (6/26/2000)
  Ethiopian- Eritrean peace negotiations to be resumed   (6/24/2000)

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