Ethiopia's unilateral re-drawing of the colonial boundary and flagrant acts of creating facts on the ground are the essential causes of the current crisis. In light of these facts, Ethiopia's claims that it is the victim of aggression are obviously false and meant to deceive the international community. Indeed, Ethiopia to this day has occupied Eritrean territories in the Setit area in the southwestern part of the country.
Ethiopia's blatant act of aggression is clearly in violation of the OAU Charter and Resolution AHG/RES 16(1) of the First Assembly of the Heads of State and Government held in Cairo in 1964. Unless rectified without equivocation, Ethiopia's refusal to abide by the OAU Charter and decisions, and its continued occupation of undisputed Eritrean territory will open a Pandora's box and create a cycle of instability in the region. The acceptance of Ethiopia's logic will not only affect all African States but will indeed backfire against Ethiopia itself, since its sovereignty over much of its territory, including on the Ogaden, is based on the same principles of international law.
1997: In violation of Eritrea's colonial boundaries, Ethiopia occupies large swathes of Eritrean territory in the southwestern, southern and southeastern parts of Eritrea. This violation is made manifest in the official map issued in Oct. 1997 as well as the map of Ethiopia embossed in the new currency notes of the country that came into circulation in November 1997. This was also the year the Ethiopian government begun its "unilateral demarcation" of the border.
July 1997: Ethiopia went further than laying claims on paper to create a de facto situation on the ground; under the pretext of fighting the Afar opposition, brought two battalions to Adi Murug (Bada area) in northwestern Dankalia, Eritrea to occupy the village and dismantle the Eritrean administration there.
October 1997: The Ethiopian government issued an official map for the Tigray Administrative Region (the ethnic region for the ruling party of Ethiopia) that violated the colonial boundaries. This map is the result of over three years of preparation.
August 16, 1997: Eritrea's Head of State, President Isaias Afwerki, subsequently sent a letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Melles Zenawi reminding him that "the forcible occupation of Adi Murug" was "truly saddening." He further urged him to "personally take the necessary prudent action so that the measure that has been taken will not trigger unnecessary conflict."
August 25, 1997: the Eritrean Head of State again wrote to the Prime Minister stressing that measures similar to those in Bada were taken in the Badme (southwestern Eritrea) area and suggesting that a Joint Commission be set up to help check further deterioration and create a mechanism to resolve the problem.
January 1998: Ethiopia tried by military means to occupay sovereign Eritrean territory on the Burie area (Assab-Dessie road ).
Unfortunately, Eritrean efforts to solve the problem amicably and bilaterally failed as the Government of Ethiopia continued to bring under its occupation the Eritrean territories that it had incorporated into its map.
May 6, 1998: on the eve of the second meeting of the Joint Border Commission, the Ethiopian army launched an unexpected attack on Eritrean armed patrols in the Badme area claiming that they had transgressed on areas that Ethiopia had newly brought under its control. This incident led to a series of clashes which, coupled with the hostile measures that were taken by the Government of Ethiopia, resulted in the present state of war between the two countries.
May 13, 1998: the declaration of war by Ethiopia's Parliament.
May 14, 1998: The Cabinet of Ministers of the Government of Eritrea proposed a five-points peace plan.
May 15, 1998: The Government of Eritrea expressed its readiness to accept an independent inspection by any third party to verify the facts of the matter on the ground.
June 4, 1998: Prime Minister Melles of Ethiopia declared that Ethiopia accepts the US-Rwanda peace agreement but also states that he has given orders to the defence forces of Ethiopia to take action: "Ethiopians who heard [the speech in Amharic] thought that he has declared war."
June 5, 1998: At 1400 and 1430 hours local time, Ethiopian Air Force fighter planes launched an air-strike on Asmara, hitting the Asmara International Airport, killing and wounding 30 people, and damaging a Zambian cargo plane. About an hour later,Eritrean Airforce plane hit military targets in Mekelle, Ethiopia--destroying five Ethiopian war planes. Unfortunately, they also hit a school yard killing and wounding 47 people.
June 6, 1998: At 09:40 hours local time, two Ethiopian Air Force fighter planes bombed the southern outskirts of Asmara; because of Ethiopia's imposition of indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets, most foreigners living in Asmara were evacuated. One of the Ethiopian fighter jets, a MiG 23, has been downed by Air Defense Units of the Eritrean Defense Forces. Its pilot,Colonel Bezabeh Petros, was captured. Colonel Bezabeh is a senior pilot in the Ethiopian Air Force. This is the second time that the Ethiopian pilot is being captured in Eritrea. Colonel Bezabeh was first captured fourteen years ago in May 1984 during the war for independence when he was bombing the liberated areas around Nakfa, in northern Eritrea. He remained a prisoner of war (POW) until 1989. After his release, he chose to remain with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) until the liberation of Eritrea in May 1991; after which he was sent to Ethiopia. Eritrea captured about 120,000 Ethiopian POWs and treated them humanely and released them in 1991 to join their loved ones.
Ethiopia further imposed an air blockade and maritime access blockade to Eritrean ports through the threat of incessant and indiscriminate air bombing.
June 10, 1998: In violation of the agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia that citizens of each country do not need visas to visit the other country, Ethiopia has told all carriers not to board Eritreans who do not have a valid visa to Ethiopia.
June 11, 1998: Eritrea has called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to take urgent measures to ensure the safety of international air and maritime navigation in the area. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government is recruiting mercenary air force pilots from countries in Eastern Europe.
June 12, 1998: Ethiopia announced that it was expelling unspecified number of civilian Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean heritage in the country under the sham of "security reasons".
June 12, 1998: Eritrean Air Force pilots bombed military targets in Adi Grat, a city that has been transformed into the main garrison for reinforcing the invading Ethiopian army and a center for army logistics.
June 12, 1998: The Ethiopian Government has further threatened that it will carry out incessant air strikes in Eritrea against major population centers and warned that international commercial airlines as well as vessels calling on the ports of Massawa and Assab.
June 12, 1998: President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea issued a warning that he would order military strikes into the heart of Ethiopia if Addis Ababa refused to lift an air and sea embargo on his country and continued to "create a sense of insecurity in Eritrea".
June 13, 1998: The Government of Ethiopia ordered the deportation of thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean heritage from the country; it is also fired thousands of others from their jobs. Those being evicted include elected officials and many members of Eritrean community organizations, business people. Many have already been called to police stations, interrogated and told to leave within two days. The thousands that are being expelled from their jobs are mainly technicians and experts who have been loyally serving the Ethiopian government for many years. It has also arrested hundreds of Eritreans all over the country in a frenzied campaign of arbitrary detention.
June 14, 1998: Ethiopia continues with its systematic and indiscriminate mass expulsion, and arrests of thousands of Eritrean civilians and Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean heritage--some of the Eritreans to be expelled include leading industrialists and businessmen. An official Ethiopian statement has said that the Eritreans are being expelled because they pose a security threat to Ethiopia. The real reason is Ethiopia's extremely cynical and dangerous attempt to play the nationalist card by pandering to the extremist elements who have not yet accepted Eritrea's independence.
June 14, 1998: The Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia have accepted the proposal put forward by the United States Government on a total ban of air strikes by both sides. The agreement provides for Eritrea and Ethiopia to "halt immediately the further use of air strikes and the threat of air strikes in their present conflict." The moratorium "will continue indefinitely or until such time as either party concludes that any prospect for a peace process has come to an end and provides a formal, advance notice to the United States Government that it will no longer respect this moratorium."
June 15, 1998: Eritrea's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Haile Menkerios sent A message regarding the maltreatment of Eritreans in Ethiopia to the United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Sergio Vieiro de Mello.
June 17, 1998: As the Ethiopian government continues to pursue its witch-hunt of Eritreans with greater intensity, 800 expelled Eritreans have arrived at the Eritrean border town of Om Hajer in the southwestern tip of the country. They were sent through the most arduous and longest route to Eritrea.
June 19, 1998: The Government of Eritrea announced that Ethiopia has violated the June 14, 1998 moratorium on the total ban of the use and threat of use of air strikes by both sides both through its official belligerent pronouncements and its communications to commercial airlines and shipping lines.
June 20, 1998: Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans took part in an overnight candle-light procession in Asmara to honour those who died in the war for independence from Ethiopia, and people paid homage at dawn Saturday at martyrs' cemeteries across the country.
June 20: About a 100,000 residents of Asmara gave the first batch of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin deportees from Ethiopia "a thunderous and defiant welcome" as they arrived in Asmara.
June 25: The US government donated 25,000 US dollars to the Eritrean Relief and Refugees Commission to help the Eritreans who were expelled from Ethiopia. The aid agreement was signed by Ambassador Robert Houdek, US charge d'affaires to Eritrea. No typo here. The aid was $25,000, with three zeros.
June 25: The Eritrean government reported that the Ethiopian government was holding more than 400 Eritrean youth in a detention camp in Fiche. Eighty five of these were university students who were in Ethiopia's universities in an exchange programme with Asmara University. The rest were mainly high school students.
June 25: The Government of Ethiopia ordered the families of the deported to mortgage their businesses and property and leave the country within one month. By this time the number of deportees was about 1150, most of them were prominent businessmen and professionals.
June 26: The 11th Session of the National Assembly of Eritrea issued a statement underlining:
The National Assembly also endorsed the Eritrean Government's peace proposal. It also had this to say about Ethiopian citizens in Eritrea:"the Eritrean government has not, and will not, take any hostile action against Ethiopians residing in the country. Their right to live and work in peace is guaranteed. If this right is infringed under any circumstances or by any institution, they have the full rights of redress. This policy that can see a horizon beyond the conflicts of today will not change even if the current crisis deteriorates to any degree."
June 26: The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution that condemned "the use of force" and demanded "both parties immediately cease hostilities and refrain from further use of force." Calling on Ethiopia and Eritrea to cooperate fully with the OAU and to avoid any steps that would aggravate the situation, it called on both countries to guarantee the rights and safety of each other's nationals. The resolution was submitted by the United States and co-sponsored by Britain, Costa Rica, Japan, Russia and Slovenia.
June 26: Matthew Bigg of Reuters visited FICHE, Ethiopia and reported that the Eritrean detainees were in "a climate of fear" and that they had told him of "isolation cells and beatings by guards." He also reported that the Detainees told him "some in the main camp had been beaten". A a metal shack used for beating was also pointed to him.
June 26: The Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations sent an appeal to the United Nations Under Secretary General for Human Affairs, Mr. Sergio Vivero de Mello, regarding the incarceration of Eritreans in detention camps in Ethiopia.
July 1: Ambassadors from Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Rwanda and Zimbabwe held talks with Eritrean Officials as part of an initiative by the OAU, following the failed US-Rwanda Plan.
July 7: The president of the University of Asmara, Dr. WoldeAb Yisak, appealed to UNESCO, the International Association of Universities, and the Association of African Universities to obtain the release of University of Asmara students who were on a student exchange program at the University of Addis Abeba and were detained at the Fiche military prison.
July 8: Four hundred and seventy (470) Eritreans were expelled from various parts of Tigray. By this time the total number of expellees had reached 6,000.
July 9: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, in an interview with Ethiopian Television and in reaction to Mary Robinson's statement about Ethiopia's human rights violations, boasted that his government "has the unrestricted right to expel any foreigner from the country for any reason whatsoever... Any foreigner, whether Eritrean, Japanese, etc., lives in Ethiopia because of the goodwill of the Ethiopian government. If the Ethiopian government says 'Go, because we don't like the colour of your eyes,' they have to leave." This statement has become the most quoted statement. It had become Ethiopia's slogan in its project of Ethnic cleansing.
July 11: Following Meles' speech that Ethiopia can deport even for not liking someone's color of eyes, by Ethiopian admission, more than 1000 Eritreans were rounded up, in Addis Ababa alone. Of course the Ethiopian government excuyse was that the thousands were "suspceted of spying".
July 12: Reuters reported that a second group of a thousand Eritreans, who Ethiopia said were "a threat to state security" were deported from Addis Ababa.
July 15: The Eritrean News Agency (ERINA) reported that over 600 Eritrean deportees were dumped by the Ethiopian government at the no man's land separating the Eritrean and Ethiopian armies on the Burie Front. The majority of the deportees were women and children, and had to walk four kilometres in a temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Ethiopia also continued to deport Eritrean farmers from villages across the Ethiopian border at an average rate of fifty deportees per day.
By this time the number of deportess has increased to over 9,000.
July 17: Ukrainian officials said that a Ukrainian cargo plane with ten people on board had crashed near Asmara.
July 17: Eritrean radio reported that in two days about 2,400 deportees arrived in Eritrea. Among them were mothers who were forced to leave children, below the age of six months, behind. Five hundred and eleven of the expellees were children. One person, an elderly man who was forced to travel during the heat, died of heat exhaustion and was buried in Assab. By this time the number of deportees has topped the 11,000 mark.
July 17: In the presence of journalists from the BBC, Reuters and AFP, over 300 Ethiopians in Assab, denied allegations of harassment by either the people or the government of Eritrea, and instead asked the ICRC to help them get food or help them return to Ethiopia.
July 18: President Isaias Afewerki met President Trotich Arap Moi of Kenya in Nairobi discussing the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
July 21: President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana offered to help mediate in the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
July 22: Martyn Ngwenya, the UN Designated Official and UN Resident Coordinator, Pamela Delargy, the UNFPA Representative, and other UN officials stationed in Eritrea submmitted a report to Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Under secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs in New York detailing "The deplorable and dehumanizing conditions" of the Eritreans who were deported from Ethiopia. On the other hand they reported that many of the Ethiopians in the port cuty of Assab "had no money with which to buy food" and when asked if they would like to go to Ethiopia, "the people in the group declined, saying that Assab was their home and that they had no place in Ethiopia to return to. None of the group reported having been mistreated by others and they told the delegation that they had no other problem than of getting work to feed their families."
July 24: In a press release the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the government's unswerving policy that a person lawfully residing in the country has the right to stay in and to leave Eritrea freely. The statement came after the Ethiopian government alleged that Eritrean officials refused to grant 177 Ethiopians staying inside the compound of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara permission to leave Eritrea for Ethiopia.
July 27: Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC) released a preliminary report titled " A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE ERITREAN NATIONALS EXPELLED FROM ETHIPIA DURING JUNE-JULY 1998 A Synopsis of their Social Characteristics and Manners of Deportation". This document gave a detailed statistics of the early deportees.
July 28: ERINA news agency reported that the Ethiopian government had transferred over 1,000 Eritreans detained in Fiche to Blattien. The latter is a remote malaria-infested area southwest of Addis Ababa.
July 29: European ambassadors in Asmara after "intensely" looking "into the matter of Ethiopian allegations of mistreatment, harassment and deportation of Ethiopians residing in Eritrea and as well treatment of Eritreans in Ethiopia" reported to the EU stating that "allegations of mistreatment of Ethiopians in Eritrea have not come to their knowledge. Neither true is information of parading of prisoners of war in Asmara.... "Through intensive interviews with Ethiopian citizens in Asmara and elsewhere", they confirmed that Ethiopians and Eritreans of Ethiopian origin "are treated mostly in no way other then before the conflict between the two states."
By this time the number of deportees has reached nearly 12,000.
August 5: Eritrea said it was satisfied with the result of Aug. 1-2 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Ministerial Committee meeting that discussed its border conflict with Eritrea. A Foreign Ministry official told Reuters that ``The OAU have reflected all our concerns and objectives,... They have got very good information from embassies, the U.N. and outside missions.''
August 6: The US Department of State issued a statement condemning the detention and expulsion of Eritreans from Ethiopia and calling on the Ethiopian government to respect international human rights norms and standards. The statement said "The United States views with deep concern the detention and expulsion of ethnic Eritreans in and from Ethiopia. ... there are fundamental humanitarian and human rights concerns raised by the forcible separation of families, the undue hardships of those detained or expelled to Eritrea, and the financial losses caused by sudden expulsions... We further urge the Government of Ethiopia to allow all those who were wrongfully expelled to return and to establish a compensation commission to investigate and recommend compensation for the claims resulting from undue financial loss and hardship as a result of rapid, forced expulsions."
August 6: One thousand Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia arrived at the border town of Zalambessa. These are deportees that were forced to walk about 15 km in the middle of the night along a road that was mined with explosives left and right. They arrived in Zalambessa at 3:00 a.m. These were also the group of deportees whom the Ethiopian government opened fire from their back hoping the Eritreans will fire back and killing the deportees. According to ERREC among the 1,000 Eritreans, 300 were women, children and elderly people, several of whom were traveling in poor health.
August 9: Around 800 Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia arrived at the town of Zalambessa, while another 110 Eritrean deportees came through Um Hajer. This brought the total number of Eritreans deported from Ethiopia over the weekend to 1,950. The number of Eritrean deportees from Ethiopia has reached over 15,000.
August 12: ERINA news agency reported the the total number of Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia had reached around 16,000.
August 13: Ethiopia gave Eritreans working for international organizations in Addis Ababa one month to leave the country. The Ethiopian government also admitted that it had served notice to some 87 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean working in embassies, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. It is to be noted that The Organization of African Unity and the UN Economic Commission for Africa are both based in Addis Ababa and scores of NGOs have offices in Addis Ababa.
August 17: AFP reported that thirty-eight young Eritreans from Ethiopia were arrested by Ethiopian police as they were attempting to cross the border into Kenya.
August 17: The Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations, Mr. Haile Menkerios sent a letter to UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, about the illegal expulsion of UN employees in Ethiopia who are Eritreans or Ethiopians of Eritrean ancestry.
August 24: The Ethiopian government begun dumping Eritreans on the borderlands Ethiopia shares with Kenya and Djibouti. At that time the Ethiopian government dumped 88 Eritreans in an isolated area between the Ethiopian-Kenyan borders.
The Ethiopian government also dropped another 32 Eritrean children and women in the hostile Djibouti-Ethiopian borders.
August 28: As a measure of goodwill and showing its interest for peace the Government of Eritrea, unilaterally, released 71 Ethiopian soldiers captive in the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. It was later reported one POW who was freed to go, declined the offer and instead chose to stay in Eritrea.
September 2: Ethiopia continued dumping Eritreans on Kenya, Djibouti border.
September 4: The 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting in Durban, South Africa, called on Eritrea and Ethiopia to solve their conflict through peaceful means.
September 4: UN spokesman Fred Eckhard reported that Ethiopia had declared about 30 UN employees from Eritrea to be "persona non grata".
September 5: Ethiopia deported 370 more Eritreans, yet the Ethiopian government tried to cover its ethnic cleansing by saying "they were offered the choice of remaining in the country but have opted to rejoin their family members deported for security reasons to Eritrea."
September 7: United Nations appealed for $8.9 million to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of about 275,000 people in Eritrea affected by the conflict with Ethiopia. The consolidated inter-agency flash appeal was to cover the period from September 1998 to February 1999.
September 8: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, approved sale of upgraded MiG-21 fighter jets to Ethiopia despite plea from Eritrea not to do so.
September 8: Ethiopian Rental Housing Department announced that houses belonging to deportees fell under the control of the Housing Department. With this announcement the Ethiopian government begun taking over houses occupied by the families of deportees.
September 9: An independent report by Natalie Klein: "MASS EXPULSION FROM ETHIOPIA Report on the Deportation of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean Origin from Ethiopia, June - August 1998" was released. The report detailed the nature of the deportations calling them "a mass violation of human rights".
September 9: The Ethiopian government released thirty-one former high-ranking officers of the military regime of Colonel Mengistu. They were imprisoned for crimes they committed during the Communist regime. But news sources mentioned that the release was meant for the officers to help with the training of the armed forces. More than thirty other officers who were reported freed the previous week were already helping the regime in training its army.
September 10: In a letter to UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Ethiopian Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tekeda Alemu, called upon the international community "not to rely on information coming from Eritrea--whether from the UN staff or from diplomats stationed there--for the simple reason that no one stationed in Eritrea who reports objectively would be tolerated by the Eritrean authorities." This letter was in reaction to the report put forward by a UN representatives in Eritrea refuting claims made by the Ethiopian government that Ethiopians in Assab were subject to maltreatment. Tekeda wrote "the fact that the UN representative in Asmara has, for all intents and purposes become an Eritrean official cannot be doubted for a moment."
September 16: The US Government communicated to Eritrea its desire to launch a new initiative. This new initiative was to be led by Mr. Anthony Lake, the former National Security Advisor.
September 18: The Italian foreign ministry said that Italy and the United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea not to resume hostilities and instead to cooperate with OAU mediation. The announcement was made by US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice and her Italian counterpart Rino Serri.
September 18: In Response to the Lake Initiative the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea reported that the Government of Eritrea felt that "the prospects of an early and peaceful solution to the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia were curtailed due to the interference of the US team that was entrusted with the task of facilitating communication between the two parties. Continued and unwarranted interference of these officials, through the Secretary General of the OAU, in the subsequent period had further contributed to negatively influence the OAU initiative underway and to limit its positive contribution." It also underlined the reservations of the Eritrean Government while expressing its readiness to receive the US envoy.
September 20: Ninety five (95) deportees arrived in Assab through Burie. They were mostly underage and long time residents in Ethiopia. They had been imprisoned for ten to sixty five days prior to their deportation.
September 22: The authorities in Ethiopia said they were expelling a further two-thousand or so Eritreans whose relatives had already been deported.
September 22: One thousand five hundred Eritreans, expelled through the Burie front arrived in Assab.
September 22: The Eritrean News Agency (ERINA), according to report it got from 95 deportees who recently arrived in Eritrea, reported that over 5,000 innocent Eritreans were wallowing in Ethiopian prisons. It also reported that Eritreans imprisoned in Blattien, on a racial and political basis, were being coerced by the Tigray People's Liberation Front officials to sign documents affirming POW status.
September 24: The ACP-EU [African Caribbean Pacific-European Union] Joint Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Ethiopia and Eritrea to cease hostilities and commit to legal and peaceful means in order to resolve the current border conflict. The Assembly issued the resolution when it concluded a four day conference in Brussels.
September 28: Ethiopian Airlines announced that it will resume flights to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in November. The airline had suspended the service after the assassination attempt on President Mubarak of Egypt at an African summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
October 2: Eritrean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haile Woldensae, in an address to the UN General Assembly, "underlined the need for Africa to work towards greater regional peace. Speaking about the border conflict, the minister explained to the UN body that Ethiopia had violated internationally recognized Eritrean borders in order to include Eritrean lands in recent official maps. Woldensae reiterated the need for Ethiopia to accept demarcation of the colonial borders for peaceful resolution of the conflict. Woldensae reminded the assembly of Ethiopia's continued violation of human rights in reference to their ongoing detention and expulsion of law abiding and peaceful Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean heritage."
October 5: One thousand two hundred twenty (1220) Eritreans expelled from Addis Ababa and Afar regions arrived through the Burie front line at Assab. Among the deportees were "children, aged people and pregnant women who lived in Ethiopia for several years." By this time more than 23,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin have been deported into Eritrea from Ethiopia.
October 6: One hundred thirty eight (138) Eritreans deported from Ethiopia have been dumped at the Djibouti border. The Ethiopian government had similarly abandoned deported Eritreans on the Kenyan and Djibouti borders last month.
October 6: U.S. special envoy Anthony Lake arrived in Eritrea to make a second attempt at finding a peaceful solution to the five-month border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The first attempt was the US-Rwanda plan drafted by Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Susan Rice. It failed June 4, 1998.
October 6: UNESCO's Director General, Federico Mayor, expressed great concern over the danger of an escalation in the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia
October 7: Anthony Lake held talks with Eritrean officials on the border conflict, but no statement was made on what his package was.
October 9: The arbitration tribunal set up to arbitrate the dispute between Eritrea and Yemen concerning islands in the Red Sea has announced its decision.
"The tribunal found the Mohabbabakah Islands, including Sayal Islet, Harbi Islet, Flat Islet and High Islet; the Haycock Islands; and Southwest Rocks Islands to be subject to the sovereignty of Eritrea; and the Zuquar-Hanish, Abu Ali, Jabal al-Tayr and Zubayr Islands to be subject to the sovereignty of Yemen. The tribunal subjected the sovereignty over the groups of islands awarded to Yemen to "the perpetuation of the traditional fishing regime in the region, including the free access and enjoyment for the fishermen of both Eritrea and Yemen."
The government of Eritrea, immediately announced that it will abide by the decision.
October 13: Yemen's foreign minister flew to Eritrea, the first visit by a senior Yemeni official since the two countries clashed in 1995 over a territorial dispute.
October 13: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, in a statement, pointed out that Ethiopia in its deliberate attempt to confuse had begun circulating yet another map to the diplomatic community in Addis Abeba. This Map didn't match the Tigray Administrative Map that was issued in October 1997 carving out, illegally, large chunks of Eritrean territory. The curious snag in the "latest" map was that Badma village is inexplicably displaced and "located" inside Ethiopia.
That Badma village lies inside Eritrea, west of the established Mareb- Setit line, is not something that can be easily lied about. The coordinates of the town are well known and are subject to verification by any interested party. The issue is Ethiopia willing to accept the established delimitation?
October 15: AFP reported that a French Rear-Admiral Jean-Louis Battet had told it that Eritrean forces had begun pulling out of Hanish Kebir. The French forces were assigned by Yemen and Eritrea to oversee the status quo on the disputed islands while the panel deliberated on the ownership of the islands.
October 21: The Ethiopian government has carried out a new wave of expulsions of Eritreans. Two thousand, five hundred Eritreans, (2500) mostly women and children, arrived at the five separate border points (Humera, Rama, Zalambesa, Tserona and Bore). The Ethiopian government also continued to detain some 1,316 youth in a concentration camp at Blatien. About eighty five of these youth being held in the remote camp under the claim by Ethiopia that they are "potential soldiers" were university students, many who were in Ethiopia on the basis of a student exchange program. By this date, the Ethiopian government had expelled about 30,000 Eritreans.
October 21: The Indian government made an arrangement with the Eritrean Embassy in China to coordinate the issuance of Eritrean passports and permits for Ethiopian students of Eritrean origin who were stripped of their Ethiopian citizenship. The Ethiopian Ambassador to India was pressuring the Indian government to deport the students whose citizenship had been stripped. However the Indian government argued that the Ethiopian government had the authority to cancel the passports, but could not speak on who should be deported.
October 29: Ethiopia shelled southwestern Eritrea (Badma area). Several villages were destroyed, more than a hundred crop fields burned, and a farmer and a child instantly killed. On the same day in the Senafe area, barrages of Ethiopian shelling similarly destroyed villages, burned crop fields and killed three peasants.
Nov. 1: Following October nine's decision by an international court of arbitration to divide the disputed islands between Eritrea and Yemen, Eritrea officially handed over the Island of Hanish Kebir to Yemen.
Nov. 1: The number of deportees topped 32,000.
Nov.2: The United Nations "vigorously" protested Ethiopia's decision to expel some 30 U.N. staffers working for various U.N. agencies around Addis Ababa as "persona non grata". The UN workers got this treatment because they were of Eritrean origin. The headquarters of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), one of the U.N.'s major regional bodies, is in Ethiopia. Under article 105 of the U.N. Charter, the United Nations enjoyed privileges and immunities, but Ethiopia didn't want to respect the law.
The decision to deport UN workers by Ethiopia was in line with its policies of Ethnic cleansing in which its Prime Minister openly declared that Ethiopia can call any person "persona non grata" even for the color of his/her eyes. If the world is in a state of shock by what happened in Kosovo, the same has been happening in Ethiopia. The victims are Ethiopians of Eritrean origin and ironically the architect of this "ethnic cleansing" has also a similar sounding name like that of Millosovich, he had chosen the nome degurre "Meles" for hiself.
Nov 4: President Isaias visited Yemen.
Nov. 6: The head of the Eritrean Mission to the United Nations, Mr. Haile Menkerios, sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council, M. Peter Burleigh, on Ethiopian Shelling of Eritrean Villages on October 29, 1998. He wrote "We ask the Security Council to take note of the prevailing situation and call upon it to demand that the Ethiopian Government ceases its intimidatory threat of an all-out war and its attacks on Eritrean villages, peasants and their property, and that it commits itself unconditionally and irreversibly to a peaceful solution... We call upon the Security Council to insist on an immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities and thus enhance the chance of the ongoing OAU and other efforts to succeed."
Nov. 7-8: The Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Summit was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. At this time the OAU presented a Framework of Agreement that had 11-points. Ethiopia immediately indicated it is satisfied by it, Eritrea said it will study it and will need clarifications. The OAU gave Eritrea until the end of December to respond to its proposals. The OAU document was almost identical to the US-Rwanda plan. Except that the latter had four points instead of seven.
Nov. 10: The Sudan and Eritrea signed, in Doha, Qatar, a memorandum of Understanding. This followed a Qatari mediation effort to reconcile the two countries. The memorandum was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Nov. 11: Ethiopia formally announced that it had "accepted" the Organization of African Unity (OAU) proposal.
Nov. 11: Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mohamed Moussa Chehem warned Eritrea of the danger of worsening relations between the two neighbors if Eritrea doesn't give an official apology for trying to exclude Djibouti from group attempting to broker peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Nov. 11: Eritrea's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Haile Menkerios, sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council, Peter Burleigh, regarding Ethiopian misrepresentation of the results of the 7-8 November meeting of the OAU High-level Delegation on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border conflict and Ethiopia's threats to restart the war.
Nov. 12: Eritrean Foreign Minister Mr. Haile Woldentsae gave a press conference on the meeting of the High Level Committee of the OAU in Ouagadougou. He highlighted "new and positive elements" in the OAU 11-point proposal and, in particular, the OAU's call for an investigation of events in Adi Murug and Badme in July of 1997 as central to understanding the origins of the conflict. He also expressed satisfaction with the OAU assertion that the dispute was a border conflict which can only be resolved through technical demarcation. The Foreign Minister underlined the need for "clear and concise language" in the peace document regarding Eritrea's colonial borders and the location of Badme.
Nov. 13: Anthony Lake, in his second attempt, held talks with Eritrean officials in Asmara.
Nov. 13: Following a briefing of the Council by Mohammed Sahnoun, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy in Africa, the President of the Security Council, Peter Burleigh of the United States told the press that members of the Security Council confirmed the Council's full support for the efforts of the OAU to promote a settlement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He said that Council members considered the proposal, "fair and balanced". He also mentioned that the Council encouraged the parties to be flexible and to give serious consideration to the proposals. It called on both countries to refrain from the use of force as they explored a peaceful resolution of the conflict through this process. The Security Council also invited the Secretary-General to consider how the United Nations might respond to the OAU's request for United Nations support should the OAU's proposals be accepted by both parties.
Nov. 17: The European Union said that it remained ready to contribute to the implementation of the OAU proposal.
Nov. 17: Six hundred sixty one (661) Eritreans who were rounded up from different parts of Ethiopia were deported through Burie, Assab. With these the the total number of deportees had reached 34,000.
Nov. 17: The President of the University of Asmara, Dr. Wolde-Ab Yisak, again appealed to the Director General of UNESCO to take action on previous appeals regarding university exchange students placed in detention camps by the Ethiopian government. The first appeal was made on July 7, 1998.
Nov. 18: Djibouti severed diplomatic ties with Eritrea. The charge was that Eritrea had asked the OAU to ask Djibouti to withdraw itself from the High Level Delegation that was seeking to mediate the Ethio-Eritrean war. Reason: Djibouti was openly helping Ethiopia in its war against Eritrea. An Eritrean official said "We have material evidence that Djibouti has turned into a conduit for war materials for Ethiopia."
Nov. 18: The Government of Eritrea announced that it had received from the ICRC the news of deaths, while in detention in Ethiopia, of three Eritrean youth. The three had been in detention in the notorious, malaria-infested Blatien concentration camp. They were Gebrekidan Zekarias, a university student, Dawit Tewolde a civilian internee, and Said Sahada Ahmed prisoner of war. Two had died on the same day on October 7 and the third on October 13.
Nov. 19: The U.N. Security Council in unanimous resolution urged nations to restrict arms sales to African countries embroiled in conflict.
Nov. 19: Eritrea's ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Haile Menkerios, sent yet another letter to Mr. Peter Burleigh, the President of the Security Council, regarding the OAU's peace efforts in the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict.
Nov. 26: On orders from the President of the Republic of Djibouti, Dr. Tekeste Ghebray, Executive Secretary of IGAD (the Intergovernmental Authority on Development), was refused entry into Djibouti. Dr. Tekeste is an Eritrean citizen and Djibouti is where IGAD headquarters is. A week earlier the Secretary had been denied entry into Ethiopia, an IGAD member nation, that was hosting an IGAD donors meeting. Djibouti, in particular, which hosts the head office for the regional organization, was duty bound to facilitate the work of IGAD and protect the diplomatic immunity of Dr. Tekeste, but it followed Ethiopia's steps.
Nov. 28: UN Chief Kofi Annan met with President Issaias Afeworki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on the fringes of the 20th France-Africa summit, held Dec. 27-28 in Paris.
December 5: The NIF regime in Khartoum shelled areas around Telata Asher, Arbate Asher and Aligider in the Gash-Barka Region of Eritrea using 122mm artillery and BM-21 rocket launchers
Dec 6: U.S. envoy Anthony Lake arrived in Asmara -- his third visit to Eritrea.
Dec.6: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Djiboutian President Hassan Gouled Aptidon signed a joint defense pact.
Dec. 12: Eritrea submitted a list of questions on the OAU^?s Frame Work for Agreement seeking clarification.
Dec. 15: The press reported that MiG-29 jet fighter planes were seen flying over Asmara, confirming speculation that the Eritrean Air force had acquired as many as 10 of them.
Dec. 17: The International Olympic Committee recognized the Olympic Committee of Eritrea as a member.
Dec. 17: Three people were killed and at least 24 wounded when Ethiopia shelled the Eritrean town of Tsorona.
Dec. 17: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU)'s Central Organ for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution began its meeting in Ouagadougou. About 20 Heads of State and Government attended the meeting. The meeting endorsed the High Level Delegation's 11 point proposal for solving the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict.
Dec. 18: Ethiopia formally announced that it has accepted the Proposal for a Framework Agreement as endorsed by the Central Organ of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou.
Dec. 21: Mr. Haile Woldensae, Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to Eritrea. In his speech he underlined that "Eritrea subscribes to the three cardinal principles, namely peaceful resolution of disputes, rejection of the use of force and respect for colonial borders." In regard to the last principle, however, he brought to the attention of the diplomats and the OAU High-Level Delegation that "Eritrea requests that this principle be formulated in precise, legal language that does not brook any ambiguity and does not lend itself to differing interpretations, thereby impeding the technical work of demarcation."
Dec. 21: Foreign Minister Haile Weldensae said that the Sudan and Djibouti were providing military or logistical aid to Ethiopia. Mr. Haile Weldensae told reporters Djibouti was collaborating militarily with Ethiopia and the Sudan was allowing Ethiopia to import arms through Port Sudan.
Dec. 22: Four hundred twenty one (421) Eritreans deported from Ethiopia arrived in Assab. By this time the Ethiopian government had expelled over 44,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin.
Dec. 28: With the following editorial words The Toronto Sun kicked off PETER WORTHINGTON's Part 1 of a 5-part series on Eritrea. "By all objective criteria, the continent of Africa is a mess - socially, economically, politically, human rights, you name it. The high hopes of 1956 when, starting with Ghana, Africa began shedding colonialism for independence, have long since collapsed in a mixture of despair, corruption, genocidal tribal wars, inefficiency. Even South Africa, free from the obscenity of apartheid through the leadership of Nelson Mandela, one of the most remarkable men of our time, is now rife with crime, violence and murder. There's hardly a country where the future seems serene. Well, maybe one. Eritrea,... In its brief existence, it has already proven unique in Africa... Eritrea could be a model for development across Africa. Although judged one of the world's poorest countries with an annual per capita income of less than $150, according to the World Bank, it is also the only country in Africa that has no beggars, no apparent corruption, no rampant crime and no tribal or ethnic feuding, despite eight distinct language and varied cultural groups. Eritrea's tribal fixations have been channelled into Eritrean patriotism, and a desire to improve the country."
DEC. 29: The ICRC informed the Eritrean government of the death of two more Eritrean youth in the Blatien concentration camp. They were Mohammed Said Abdulbeker Idris and Mohamedzeyen Said Kahsay. The two died because of inhuman treatment and lack of proper medical attention.
Jan. 01: Dimsti Hafash celebrated 20 years (1979-1999) of service.
Jan. 03: One thousand three hundred sixty seven (1367) Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin expelled from various places in Ethiopia arrived in Assab. The deportees included infants and very elderly Eritreans with health problems. By this date over 47,000 Eritreans had been deported from Ethiopia.
Jan. 05: Eritrean fighter turned journalist and correspondent for Agence France Press, Ruth Simon, was freed after twenty months in prison.
Jan. 05: Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Seyoum Mesfin, told the Diplomatic Community in Ethiopia "Put economic pressure on Eritrea. They [Eritreans] might listen and they will listen if there are clear indications that... their pockets would be affected.... Otherwise, the peace effort can be considered as good as dead.."
Jan. 08: The Eritrean government learned about the death of another Eritrean, 25-year-old Yosef Gebreab Zecharias, who was being held in Ethiopian prison camps. This was only a week after the death of two young Eritreans was confirmed.
Jan. 09: One of the main banks in Ethiopia said it will be auctioning property, vehicles and factories belonging to two-hundred Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who had been expelled from Ethiopia. The bank claimed they had used the property as collateral for loans.
Jan. 11: Eight hundred sixty (860) Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin expelled from Ethiopia through the Burie frontline arrived in Assab. This latest batch of expellees included several pregnant women, unaccompanied children, as well as a group of Catholic nuns and monks. By this date Eritrea had received and registered over 49,000 Eritreans Ethiopians of Eritrean origin ethnically cleansed from Ethiopia.
Jan. 12: The Eritrean government said it had received intelligence reports that Ethiopia was planning to launch fresh attacks between mid-January and mid-February.
Jan. 14: The Struggle Of Students (SOS) released a statement endorsing a peace plan proposed by Ethiopian and Eritrean participants of the conference. The plan was designed to help solve the Ethiopian-Eritrean Border Conflict.
Jan. 17: One thousand two hundred eighty (1,280) Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who were picked up from different parts of Ethiopia arrived in Assab after being dumped off at the Burie front line. The deportees confirmed that 42 Eritreans who had served in the Ethiopian Air Force remained in detention in Sebategna prison camp in Dire Dawa. By this time Eritrea had received and registered over 50,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who had, since June, been deported by the Ethiopian government.
Jan. 18: Italy urged Eritrea to give its full backing to Organisation of African Unity (OAU) proposals for a peace .
Jan. 18: Anthony Lake, President Bill Clinton's former national security advisor, once again shuttled between Addis Ababa and Asmara and held a fourth round of talks with Eritrean officials. His first round was in October 1998.
Jan. 18: The European Union, EU, said it fully supported the ongoing commitment by the OAU to resolve the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The statement in part read "The European Union reiterates her full support for the OAU's High Level Delegation's proposals for a framework agreement, which was endorsed at the OAU's Central Organ Summit Meeting on December 17, and to the OAU's ongoing commitment to mediate in the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The European Union is ready to further assist the OAU in that endeavour."
Jan. 18: The Kenyan government lodged an official protest with Ethiopia over what it said was an illegal border incursion by Ethiopian troops.
Jan. 19: One hundred fifty three (153) Ethiopians of Eritrean origin expelled from their village of Adi Nebri-id, Tigray, arrived in the border town of Mai Mene, Qohayin. Adi Nebri-id is a village east of Badme.
Jan. 20: The US Department of State warned U.S. citizens against travel to Eritrea. It gave the excuse "given the continuing tensions, and [the fact that] there is the possibility of renewed hostilities",
Jan. 22: The White House released a statement by president Clinton saying ''We call on both parties [Eritrea and Ethiopia] to exercise reason and restraint, and to maintain their commitment to the peaceful solution that we are convinced is within reach.''
Jan. 22: The UN Security Council president, Celso Amorim of Brazil issued a statement saying "Council members call upon both sides to exercise reason and restraint and to maintain their commitment to a peaceful resolution,''
Jan. 24: Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi accompanied by his Foreign Minister Bonaya Gadana, in an attempt to head off the threat of a renewal of the military confrontation with Ethiopia, held discussions with Eritrean officials in Asmara. The 10-point joint declaration that was released after the meeting said that Eritrea was committed to a peaceful settlement of the border conflict with Ethiopia and that an agreement drawn up by the Organization of African Unity provided a good starting point for negotiations, but it required clarification. By this time Eritrea was still waiting for clarifications it submitted on Dec. 12, 1998.
Jan. 25: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy reiterated Canada's full support for the Organization of African Unity (OAU) resolutions and mediation. He said "Canada urges both countries to exercise restraint and use all possible resources to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict...We urge Ethiopia and Eritrea to co-operate fully with the OAU and to accept and implement their mediation proposals without further delay."
Jan. 25: President Isaias, on an official visit, traveled to Brussels, Belgium to meet Belgian Prime Minister Jean Luke Dahne, European Union President Jacques Santer, and European Union Parliament members.
Jan. 26: The OAU gave a reply to the 29 questions Eritrea raised on the framework agreement on Dec. 12, 1998. The OAU took forty five (45) days to reply. According to this clarification the questions "What is meant by Badme and environs? Which areas does it include?" were answered as
"Environs refer to the area surrounding Badme Town".
While the question "According to Ethiopia, 'Badme and environs' means 'all Ethiopian border territories occupied by Eritrea since May 6, 1998'. What is the OAU's view?" that was asked by Eritrea recieved the following reply:
"See paragraph 36 in the Report on the efforts of the OAU High-Level Delegation, presented to the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Central Organ, meeting at Heads of State Level, which states: "the High Level Delegation took note of the position of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. There was, however, no further discussion on the issue"
Paragraph 36, for that matter the whole 44-paragraph "Report on the efforts of the OAU High-Level Delegation" can be found http://www.primenet.com/~ephrem2/newscom2/oau.html
Jan. 26: In an interview with Eritrean Television President Isaias Afewerki reaffirmed that "Eritrea will never fire the first bullet."
Jan. 27: Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi called upon all member states of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to stand by the side of Ethiopia for the implementation of the OAU peace plan and to support him when his country attacks Eritrea. He made this plea in the speech he gave to the OAU diplomats in Addis.
Jan. 29: The UN Security Council voted unanimously to support efforts made by the Organization of African Unity to end the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Security Council expressed "its strong support for the mediation efforts of the Organization of African Unity."
Jan. 29: Amnesty International released an inditing document on Ethiopia's gross human rights violations of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin. While exposing Ethiopia's violations this AI report exonerated Eritrea of virtually all the accusations that were coming from Ethiopia.
Jan. 31: The World Federation of Democratic Youth's 15th Assembly that met 28 - 31 January in Cyprus adopted Peace Proposal drafted & proposed by the Ethiopian and Eritrean youth delegation.
Feb. 02: Mohammed Sahnoun, UN special envoy, arrived in Asmara for talks with President Isaias Afewerki.
Feb. 03: Ethiopian PM admitted that the Ethiopian Air Force had been strengthened by the recruitment of foreign mercenaries who are participating in the Ethiopian war of aggression against Eritrea.
Feb. 05: The Ethiopian government alleged Eritrean fighter planes bombed the northern town of Adigrat. This was proved to be false by independent reporters, and foreign governments including recently by Susan Rice. In her May 25, 1999 testimony to House Africa Subcommittee she said " These initial missions also resulted in agreement by the two parties to the airstrike moratorium, which remained in effect until February 6, 1999."
Feb. 06: The Ethiopian government launched a large-scale attack against Eritrea on the Mereb-Setit front. By the end of the day two Ethiopian brigades were totally routed while another two brigades had suffered severe casualties. Over 100 soldiers were captured.
Feb. 07: The Ethiopian government shelled the town of Adi Quala killing eight and wounding 23 civilians. Adi Quala is a town in southern Eritrea about 25 km from the border with Tigray, however it is nowhere near. The disputed territories. There was no military presence or garrison there. Ethiopian artillery shelling thus had no military purpose and was simply aimed at targeting the civilian population.
Feb. 08: Blaise Compaore, president of Burkina Faso and OAU chairman for 1998-99, called on Eritrea and Ethiopia to put an end to their fighting, "immediately and without conditions".
Feb. 08: Ethiopia's announcement of that it captured Gazagerehlase was proved to be a lie by independent reporters. While Salome Tadesse, the Ethiopian spokeswoman, had said ``It is totally untrue that the Eritreans hold Gazagerehlase... The truth will come out in the end '' The truth indeed came out. Here is how Reuters put it "Eritrea appeared in control at the disputed border post of Gazagerehlase, which Ethiopia says it seized over the weekend."
Feb. 08: Ethiopia bombed the Eritrean town of Tsorena.
Feb. 09: Ethiopia bombed the Eritrean Village of Lalai Dieda. Five civilians (two women, two men and an infant; all members of the same family) were killed. Ethiopian planes dropped their bombs on the village of tents housing about 500 Eritreans that were earlier deported from Ethiopia. The tents were clearly marked UNHCR, showing they were tents sheltering refugees.
Feb. 08: Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), urged "both Eritrea and Ethiopia to immediately put an end to the current fighting and recommit themselves to a peaceful solution to the dispute".
Feb. 08: Algeria, which will host the 1999 OAU summit, urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to stop the war and to show restraint in order to give a chance for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Feb. 08: The Ethiopian regime launched a simultaneous attack on the Mereb-Setit and Alitena-Mereb fronts. The first one is around Badme the second around Tsorena. By the end of the day the large-scale offensive at the Tsorena front by Ethiopia's elite divisions named "Goblel" (Divisions 20th and 24th) was crashed. These divisions suffered more than 1500 dead, about 3000 wounded and 20 captured.
Feb 09: Italy called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to agree on an immediate cease-fire and to respect the accord reached June 14, 1998 to halt airstrikes against each other's positions. It is to be remembered the airstrike moratorium was negotiated by Italy and the US.
Feb. 09: President Clinton released a statement saying "I urge both parties to halt the fighting immediately... I am particularly alarmed by the recent use of air power, which escalates the conflict and violates the agreed airstrike moratorium. I urge the Ethiopian government to refrain from further use of its aircraft as currently employed along the border, and I ask both sides to renew their commitment to the moratorium. For the sake of their people, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea must immediately halt the fighting and recommit themselves to diplomatic efforts to secure a peaceful settlement."
Feb. 09: The Ethiopian government declared Eritrea's Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ghirma Asmerom, "persona non grata" and asked him to leave Ethiopia immediately. It is to be noted that Ambassador Ghirma Asmerom was also Eritrea's Permanent Representative to the OAU which has its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is also to be recalled that Ethiopia had already expelled more than forty (40) Eritrean diplomats and local staff of the Embassy of Eritrea in Addis Ababa.
Feb. 10: The UN Security Council passed a US-drafted resolution that demanded an immediate halt to the fighting and strongly urged all states to end immediately all sales of arms and munitions to Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Feb 10: France called upon Eritrea and Ethiopia to put an immediate end to their fighting
Feb. 11: Ethiopia shelled Eritrean villages around Zalambessa killing 12 civilians and destroying 30 homes.
Feb. 11: The 15-nation EU vehemently condemned the use of force and called on both Eritrea and Ethiopia to agree unilaterally to a ceasefire. It urged both countries to respect the air strike moratorium to which both sides committed themselves to. It also urged other countries to immediately stop selling arms and ammunition to both parties.
Feb. 11: Ibrahim Dagash OAU's spokesman said "We are making efforts with other concerned parties to bring about an immediate ceasefire".
Feb. 12: Ethiopian authorities ordered troops who had surrounded the Eritrean ambassador's residence to break into the residence. These actions violated Article 22 of the Vienna Convention which guarantees the inviolability and immunity of premises and property of diplomats and diplomatic missions.
Feb. 13: The remaining thirty nine (39) Eritrean exchange students that were languishing in TPLF concentration camps were released. The first 45 of the 85 university students were released earlier . The 85th Gebrekidan Zecharias, died in detention.
Feb. 14: The Ethiopian regime started an offensive along the Burie front. The front is at about the 71 km mark on the road from Assab to Dessie. The attack was accompanied by air bombardment of the environs of the frontline by Antonov 130 planes. During this Ethiopian offensive Eritrean defense forces shot down one MI-24 helicopter gunship. Out of the crew of six there were no survivors, the helicopter's pilot was Captain Eshetu Bekele (Military ID No. 216/85). Ethiopian bombers had also attempted to bomb a water reservoir near Assab but they missed their target.
Feb. 15: The Ethiopian army shelled the Burie front for a second day.
Feb. 15: The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in a its "Ghost War on the Trenches" exposed Ethiopia's bold lie about Gezagherehelase. The Corriere della Sera wrote [translation by Sirak] " Even here one could not see the signs of a "big battle". No traces of track vehicles can be seen, or even of one of those fortifications the Eritreans would have built, had they really owned a stronghold here. Moreover, what kind of stronghold would this be, without even a single track? This is not a singled out case in which things don't add up. Generally, to wage wars, there is a need of soldiers, a large number of soldiers. ... There are no soldiers here, those around are very few indeed... The real 'proof' of an Eritrean presence finally reveals itself, after a long and accurate search: a sack of abandoned bread. 'You see, we do not eat this kind of bread, we only eat biscuits', says the Lieutenant pointing at a pile of boxes. However that bread is the same as the one that is served at the Commercial Hotel of Inda Selase [Shire, Ethiopia], the town which functioned as the base for this excursion to the front. If you cannot distinguish ammunitions, how can you distinguish bread?"
Feb. 15: Britain announced that it had implemented the arms embargo on Ethiopia and Eritrea called by the United Nations.
Feb. 15: Eritrea filed a claim against Ethiopia in the International Court of Justice (the World Court), accusing Ethiopian security forces of taking over the Eritrean embassy residence in Addis Ababa and detaining Eritrean embassy personnel. The case cited violations of well-established international legal rules protecting diplomatic premises and embassy personnel.
Feb. 16: Three Ethiopian fighter-bombers for the second time attempted to attack a water reservoir 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Assab but the three Mig 23 jets missed their targets. It was at this time that Lieutenant-Colonel Alem Seged told Reuters "they could not kill anything...except maybe a wandering ostrich''.
Feb. 17: Ethiopia attempted for the third time to attack water reservoir that it missed twice. This time its Antonov planes dropped six bombs in the area of the reservoir. According to reporters they missed wondering ostriches as well.
Feb. 17: The Organization of African Unity (OAU) High-Level Delegation urged both Ethiopia and Eritrea to put an immediate end to the fighting and to re-commit themselves to a peaceful resolution of the dispute based on the OAU proposals for a framework agreement. This was before Eritrea accepted the OAU plan. Since Eritrea accepted the plan nothing has been heard from the OAU HLD.
Feb. 20: European Union delegates held talks with Eritrean officials after conferring with Ethiopian officials a day earlier. The Ethiopian government had given the delegation a chilly reception by turning down their request for a meeting with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Feb. 21: Ethiopia's antonov bombers targeted the airstrip in Asab dropping 12 bombs. All of the bombs missed their target. The nearest bomb however fell about 200 meters from the runway.
Feb. 21: Ethiopian Antonovs bombed the village of Mai Aini near Tsorena. They destroyed homes and property in the village killing four (4) civilians and leaving several others wounded.
Feb. 22: The U.S. Department of State released a statement saying: "The United States Government deeply regrets the use of air power by Ethiopia in the current conflict, in particular against economic targets and near civilian population centers. We urge the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to resume the moratorium immediately. We also urge the Eritrean authorities to continue to uphold their commitment to the terms of the moratorium." This is another proof that Eritrea didn't bomb Adi Grat, Feb. 5, 1999.
Feb. 23: Ethiopia launched yet another offensive on the Mareb-Setit (Badme) front. On this day Eritrea reported that it destroyed nine tanks and capturing two.
Feb. 23: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) had planed to send a high-powered delegation to Eritrea. This delegation was in place of the committee of ambassadors from Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Zimbabwe that was originally due in Asmara. Eritrean refused to allow the committee into Eritrea because of the presence of Dileita Mohamed Dileita, the Djiboutian ambassador. It is to be remembered that Djibouti had broken diplomatic ties with Eritrea in November and had already signed a defense pact with Ethiopia.
Feb. 24: Intense fighting continued on the Mereb-Setit front. Ethiopian forces backed by heavy artillery, mechanized units and aircraft attempted, for a second day, to dislodge Eritrean forces from their positions. By the end of the day an MI-24 helicopter Gunship was shot down, in addition 31 Ethiopian tanks were destroyed; and three others were captured.
Feb. 26: Eritrea announced to the world that Ethiopia, through sheer weight of numbers and repetitive assaults of human waves, had broken through its defense lines at one point on the Badma front. Since this made Eritrea's fixed defense lines vulnerable Eritrean armed forces withdrew and re-established a new frontline. This time west of "Badme and its environs". This meant the thorny issue of the OAU proposal., that of withdrawing from "Badme and its environs" was accomplished. To gain Badme village, in three days, Ethiopia suffered 9,000 dead, 12,000 wounded and captured 170 soldiers. At the same time 41 Ethiopian tanks were destroyed, three captured, and an MI-24 helicopter gunship was shot down. In what one reporter wrote the Ethiopian gain in Badme was at a cost of over two people for every meter of distance. On the other hand Eritrean Defense Ministry announced that Eritrean human losses were "minimal" and had only left behind two tanks that were burned and two others which were broken down.
Feb. 27: Eritrea informed the UN Security Council that it had accepted the OAU peace plan and was ready to implement it. The Plan was submitted Nov. 8. The OAU had given the two countries up to the end of December to study it and to reply. Ethiopia immediately announced that it had accepted it. On the other hand Eritrea, after four weeks of studying it, on Dec. 12, 1998, requested for clarification. The OAU took six weeks to send its clarification. When it did it was already Jan. 26, 1999. Before Eritrea got a chance to look at the clarifications and as Mohammed Sahnoun, the UN special envoy was in the area mediating, Ethiopia begun its offensive on Feb. 6, 1999. As Eritrea was afraid from the very beginning, Ethiopia's declared acceptance of the proposal before even reading it was a PR game. As for the OAU, as if it was not badgering Eritrea to accept its half baked plan day in day out, is now mute when Eritrea accepted it but Ethiopia has reneged its promise of acceptance. So much for the OAU's credibility and its will and ability to solve conflicts.
Feb. 27: The UN Security Council welcomed Eritrea's decision to accept the Organization of African Unity (OAU) peace plan previously agreed to by Ethiopia.
Feb. 27: U.S. President Bill Clinton welcomed Eritrea's acceptance of the OAU's framework agreement for peace and urged both parties to end the fighting immediately.
Feb. 28: Ethiopia launched a fresh offensive in the Badme region. This was on the same day Ethiopia declared "total victory" and 24 hours after Eritrea accepted the peace plan drawn up by the Organization of African Unity. In fact Ethiopia declared that "the chances of an immediate cease-fire in the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea were minimal".
Feb. 28: Ethiopian fighter-bombers dropped napalm on the village of Shambiko, on the western front, killing one person, injuring another, and burning 150 houses. The nearby village of Tokombia also came under air attack, with one person killed. Altogether some 20 villages in the region came under Ethiopian air or artillery attack. Shambiko is some 10 or 15 kilometres (six to nine miles) northwest of the hamlet of Badme, the focal point of the border war.