Ethiopia says it downed Eritrean plane

An aircraft was downed yesterday after being hit by Ethiopian anti-aircraft battery when violating Ethiopian airspace which is restricted to flight, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense said yesterday.

Eritrea on Tuesday denied Ethiopian claims where the spokesman for the Eriterean presidency said in press statements in Asmara on Tuesday that no Eriterean plane, either civilian or military, had passed through Ethiopian airspace.

The Ethiopian News Agency was told by the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense that the aircraft was downed when it moved deep inside Ethiopian no-fly zone from Eritrea's airspace some 30 km South of Adwa at 5:00 p.m. local time Sunday.

The two countries, however, approved a peace plan provided by the Organization of African Unity to end the conflict, but the Ethiopian government has not said whether it will agree to the technical arrangements for implementing this plan.