/ 5 February 1999

ETHIOPIAN GOVT CLAIMS AIR STRIKES

TWO Eritrean warplanes bombed the northern Ethiopian town of Adigrat on Friday, the Ethiopian government said in a communique. “The intended target was the fuel depot and its surroundings,” the communique said, without saying whether any bombs struck the depot or whether there were casualties. The alleged strike, which could not be confirmed by other sources, is the first of its kind reported since June last year when the two states signed a United States-brokered pact to halt air strikes. Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war in May last year over their ill-defined border.