Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 23:41:47 +0100
<http://www.madote.com/2014/02/pearl-of-red-sea-very-gateway-to.html> Pearl
Of The Red Sea: The Very Gateway To Independence
Written By Admin on Feb 7, 2014 | 12:08 AM
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Pearl Of The Red Sea: The Very Gateway To Independence
By Rahel Asgedom,
If there had been a strong hold in Eritrea, political and military officials
of the colonial Ethiopian Derg had boasted of, it was the port city Massawa.
The realization that surrendering Massawa would as much likely be as taking
their own lives had compelled the Derg regime to outwit a plan against
conclusive defeat, they guarded it in a way they believed would be more
dependable to securing their hold. There was a consolidated coastal front
line stretching west of Massawa from Figret to Emberemi and thence to the
North. Still, in Massawa and its vicinities, there were three defense strong
holds mostly cemented fortifications sheltering even tanks and artilleries.
Derg deployed a huge army in those defense lines, within Massawa and by the
sea.
The sixth infantry and the third motorized divisions, additional mechanized
brigades and almost the entire Ethiopian naval forces warmed all over the
area equipped with hundreds of tanks, tens of cannons, rocket launchers and
other military hard wares as well as warships and boats. The setup added to
it the imposing terrain was quite a formidable challenging to be faced with
. Having penetrated the first fort of the enemy, the EPLF forces marched
forward across the plainest lowlands. To enter through the only passage of
the city into Massawa, it was imperative for the Eritrean liberation forces
to confront the enemy forces with an overwhelming victory at the narrow
Bridge of Segalet, which is surrounded on both sides by the sea.
Despite the surprising victories inother areas, for the Derg enclosed
Massawa with heavy arms and enormous force, it was beyond any speculations
of not only the regime but also the Eritreans in Massawa that the EPLF could
indeed liberate the city. The historic heroism 'nothing ventured, nothing
gained' to uproot the enormous enemy force in a short period might have
seemed a miraculous determination.Having provisioned strong moral commitment
and sophisticated weaponry seized from enemy forces, the extraordinary
devotion demonstrated by the freedom fighters with amplest popular support
plus the special military skills gained through training and experience to
liberate Massawa nineteen years ago forced the Derg army to vacate the city
within two and a half days. Operation Fenkil,which pervaded an indomitable
spirit capturing imaginations of the Eritrean people most, was thus launched
against the Derg in three directions all unawares.
North of the front on the Asmara-Massawa road, the first direction of the
surprising attack in the west targeted to move forward storming the military
posts in Figret and throttling the enemy's militarism at Gahtelay on the
Asmara road. Second direction of the attack was in a position to capture the
main road through May Atal and turn east to Massawa in the face of any
opposition, thereby breaking through the center of the enemy's fortified
strongholds on the hills around Seker. The third flank of the attack
deployed in the East from the coastal areas to smash the forts and strong
holds stretching north from Emberemi and surge to victory of the port city
in the North.
Thursday, February 8, 1990, at 1:00 AM, EPLF forces heralded the launch of
the historic operation of 72-hours by way of the western wing to liberate
Massawa. Within the early three or four hours of the battle, having managed
to crush the paralytic attempts of enemy forces,the western wing of EPLF
forces captured seven tanks, five BM-21 launcher rockets, sub machine guns
as well as other military hardware and seized control of all the camps
around at daybreak. Laying the first front line of the enemy in
ruins,liberators held many personnel of the sixth division - including the
adjutant Colonel - in captivity.Providing momentum for the operation in
opposition to any resistance, the EPLF forces removed the enormous Ethiopian
forces from the second wing of the front line in the bloodshed around Seker,
May Atal and Degoli at a price. After a reorganizing break,liberation forces
at the second night of the coherent attack routed the huge enemy forces out
of their strongholds into Massawa. The third wing of the attack in the
battle, flanked by the infantry and mechanized units jointly with the young
navy, winged along the coastal areas in the east against the enemy's
military formation, which was armed with massive tanks and convoys.
Thanks to the thunderbolt freedom fighters, the western wing reached the
gates of Massawa by Gergsum in the same breath. In the east the young naval
forces of the EPLF attacked the enemy forces without giving a break causing
the heaviest loss since the launch of the operation.The adequately resourced
Ethiopian army with necessary supplies and sophisticated military assets
could not trounce the newborn navy of the EPLF, though. On February 10,1990
early Saturday morning, the attack which was launched through Forto-Massawa
flared up into the inner city.
Hence, they first occupied Edaga and next conquered Salina, the place where
feasibility appeared unattainable in 1978, subsequently reached Girar within
a short span of time. After an efficient speedy but inevitable bloody
battle, naval base, Twalet as well as Massawa through and through along with
the territorial waters were liberated.Indeed, the operation, beyond being a
sweeping victory to the Pearl City, was a key success to Eritrea throughout
that set the nation free from the clutches of consecutive colonizers once
and for all.
During the Operation Fenkel, more than 80 tanks, 7 BM-21 launcher rockets,
10 anti tank guided missals,sub-machine guns and artilleries were captured.
Moreover, around 8 thousand Ethiopian soldiers along with a number of
officers were succumbed under the doughty EPLF. Napalms and cluster bombs
rained down on the civilian people by the Ethiopian soldiers as to avenge
their shameful defeat. The vast number of the retreating and fleeing
Ethiopian soldiers revealed twilight moments of the down fall of the regime.
The unparalleled Operation Fenkel dawned good prospects and uplifted the
hope of every citizen towards a free state. During the operation,five armed
Ethiopian huge war ships were captured and turned against the Derg aligning
with the EPLF naval force. Despite Russian-made war planes: Mig-21 and two
Mig-23 were dispatched in a bid to give help for the enemy forces, the EPLF
anti-air craft unit shot down both.Above 10 infantry and mechanized brigades
were totally destroyed. In these vast battles 200 tanks, from about 85 to
100 different kinds of cannons and other weapons were launched together
erupting like a volcanic outburst, ranging the magnitude of the battle than
any land of Eritrea had ever attested.
The scope of the battle and the military formation of the enemy forces
during the Operation Fenkel extended from Morara, Bri-Gemal, Tsehaf-Lam,
Kudo, Afgergr around the green-belt region under the 69th Birgade of the
10th division to the right, to the left the Shabah plain sunder the 113th
brigade, in the northeast close to Kentibay under the 83rd brigade, and
500th brigade near Emberemi around the area which they referred to as 101
kilometer road representing the left flank in an area of about 1560 Km2.
Asregards the mechanized resource:302 motorized Brigade in the island, the
tank-armed 4th Brigade from Massawa to Goroyto, 29th mechanized Brigade near
May-Weuy and Gahtelay, and 27th mechanized Brigade stretched out around
Foro. Apart from the aforementioned resources, the infantry brigade 21 in
the areas around Adi-Ile, other infantry and mechanized units of the Dergue,
the 66th and 167th battalions of the 10th division were among the units that
served reservedly.
Confrontation in this enormous battle by breaking through the strongholds of
the enemy that were armed with about 180 tanks was nothing but an invincible
bravery. However, the EPLF had utilized sophisticated military plans to win
the battle. The sincere secret of the success was just the hunger for
freedom and disciplined stoicism of the people envisioning to secure
independence of the nation, which Eritrea has been deprived of for decades
due to injustice and colonization. That's why the Fenkel operation, through
its astounding victory, managed to capture minds of not only friends of the
EPLF and its foes but also the whole world. It did not at the same time
reveal only the definite defeat of the Ethiopian regime, but also
demonstrated the ultimate goal of the long and bitter struggle for
independence. It only took months for complete liberation of Eritrea upon
successful accomplishment of the operation, realizing the dream that seemed
distant.
Operation Fenkel has been commemorated for the last twenty three years on
the 2nd week of February with honor in a cordial mood for the history it
bears. Thus, the occasion should not be confined to an event of exuberant
celebration, but must be a juncture to renew our commitments to safeguard
the sovereignty and peace of the country. Through the nation building
campaign, the Eritrean people have managed to achieve cures for the former
colonial legacies of Massawa, if not thoroughly, but mostly, replacing the
ruined image of the port city. Today Massawa has many modern and comfortable
residential complexes, a big national air port,modern port, great
infrastructures, hotels and many recreational cafes.
<http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dZdm4EgJyAY/UvR8jXBTKaI/AAAAAAAAE5Y/5gJLr3tPdf8/s
1600/Eritrean+freedom+fighters.jpg>
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dZdm4EgJyAY/UvR8jXBTKaI/AAAAAAAAE5Y/5gJLr3tPdf8/s1
600/Eritrean+freedom+fighters.jpg
Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front fighters raise their Kalashnikovs in
celebration - 1991
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