Eyewitness report on “devastated” village

After a visit in an Ethiopian military helicopter to the Western Mereb front line yesterday, BBC journalist Rageh Omaar said he visited a village in the disputed territory “devastated” by an Ethiopian assault. He said there were no civilians left in the village, which was now a “garrison town”. He said it was littered with Eritrean corpses.

Military personnel accompanying the journalist described the Ethiopian strategy as determined by the need “to fatally weaken the Eritrean army” and so prevent the Eritrean government from continuing the war. Territory gained beyond the disputed area would have to be handed back to Eritrea, he was told, but was necessary to destroy the Eritrean capability. The journalist observed that for Ethiopia to accept a ceasefire at this time “would mean giving up everything they had gained” from the latest military push. Eritrea maintains it agreed to a ceasefire proposal while Ethiopia says peace talks based on the original OAU plan must begin again before the fighting stops.