Eritrea announces Ethiopian raids on Asab

An Eritrean Army officer said on Tuesday that three Ethiopian Mig 23 jets raided on Tuesday a water reservoir which feeds Eritrea's port of Asab, 500 km, southeast of the capital, Asmara.

AFP quoted the officers as saying that the Ethiopian planes missed their objective, set at a distance of 50 km from the port of Asab. Earlier, Ethiopia announced that its planes destroyed these reservoirs during raids launched on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government said on Tuesday that that the Eritrean army on Monday night bombarded, using heavy artillery and mortars, Ethiopian positions on Badmi front, to the west of the country in an attempt to restore the "Geza Gerlacy" position. A statement issued by the Ethiopian government in Addis Ababa on Tuesday said its forces successfully confronted the attack and the Eritrean forces were completely destroyed.

Eritrea noted on Monday the exchange of artillery bombardment with Ethiopia on the eastern front in Bourieh district in northeast Ethiopia.

Fighting erupted between the two countries earlier this month on the border dispute over Badmi district, which is a mountainous area of small population and is located along the borders between the two countries for 1,000 km.