Ethiopian forces killed 111 Eritrean-trained and armed insurgents in the north-west of the country, reported the government-owned newspaper Addis Zemen on Wednesday.
The insurgents had infiltrated from neighbouring Eritrea on a mission of destabilisation, according to the Amharic-language daily.
The insurgents were killed in ”recent weeks” in the Amhara region by government forces engaged in clearing the area of ”anti-peace elements and Eritrean infiltrators”, the report said.
The report quoted the Ethiopian Ministry of Defence as saying the Eritrean-trained insurgents were on a mission ”to carry out the objectives of the government in Asmara to destabilise the country”.
During the operations lasting several days, 18 insurgents were wounded, 86 others were captured while 21 others surrendered with their weapons, according to the report.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had identified the insurgents as Patriotic Front rebel group — an alliance of small opposition forces fighting the government in north-western Ethiopia.
The prime minister alleged that the insurgents were trained and armed by the Eritrean government and ”infiltrated into Ethiopia from time to time” in an attempt to destabilise the country.
Supporting the insurgents was part of Eritrea’s policy to destabilise the region, he told a press conference on Tuesday night. – Sapa-DPA