Zalambesa is the site of one of several contested portions
of the 1,000-mile long border between the two Horn of Africa neighbors whose
governments suffered more than 80,000 dead in a bloody two-year war that ended
in 2000. A UN line of demarcation remains in dispute after UN peacekeepers
pulled out more than a year ago.
VOA reporter Girmay Gebru traveled to the contested border
area today to seek confirmation of claims made by the Eritrean government that
forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front attacked Eritrean military
positions on Friday. Eritrean officials claimed
they killed 10 Ethiopian troops and captured two. The Ethiopian government says the report is a
fabrication.
Several residents told Girmay they heard gunfire from the
border area. However, Ethiopian military
sources in the town told Girmay that Ethiopian troops were not involved in any
such attacks.
In Zalambesa, Girmay also talked to Ibrahim Harun, who
identified himself as the chairman of a guerilla group called the Red Sea Afar
Democratic Organization. Harun claims
that on Friday armed RSADO members exchanged gunfire with Eritrean troops along
the Zalembesa front and suffered some casualties.
SOURCE: VOA
