Eritrea: Two Ethiopian MiG-23 fighter aircraft shot down

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today that "Two Ethiopian MiG-23 fighter planes were shot down around 2:00 p.m. yesterday, June 16, 1999, on the Mereb-Setit front." According to this and other Eritrean claims, this brings to five the number of Ethiopian fighter aircraft (four MiG-23 planes and one helicopter gunship) shot down since the resumption of fighting last week.

The two aircraft were hit at high altitude as they encroached on Eritrean airspace and fell behind Ethiopian front lines. Both pilots are presumed to be dead, an official statement said.

Ground fighting on the Mereb-Setit front, which continued with less intensity in the past two days, has resumed this morning.