FRIDAY, 6.30PM:
Ethiopian aircraft have bombed the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Two aircraft twice bombed an air force base, hitting workshops and hangars. No injuries were reported.
The attack comes a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told reporters he would accept a peace plan brokered by Rwanda to end the escalating border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, he added, the Ethiopian army had orders to “take all necessary measures against repeated Eritrean aggression”.
“I am not declaring war in Eritrea. I am only saying enough is enough to Eritrean aggression,” he said.
Before the attack the Eritrean government had issued a statement giving a “firm commitment” to a peaceful resolution to the dispute. Nonetheless, the statement said, Eritrea would never “acquiesce to the language of force and intimidation and will, if necessary, resolutely defend its hard-won right to live in peace and freedom.”
The Organization of African Unity earlier urged Eritrea and Ethiopia to observe a cease-fire and explore avenues for an early and peaceful resolution of their border dispute.
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