US statement riles Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government today (Tuesday) described as “out of sync with ... reality’” a statement by the U.S. government expressing regret at Ethiopian air strikes against Eritrea since the weekend and calling for a moratorium on air raids. “The talk about air moratorium at a time when a full-scale war is raging ... is amazingly naive and amounts to showing lack of seriousness about the magnitude of the crime committed by the Eritrean authorities,” Ethiopia said in a statement. The U.S State Department’s deputy spokesman, James Foley, said yesterday (Monday) that Washington “deeply regrets the use of air power by Ethiopia in the current conflict, in particular against economic targets and near civilian population centers”. “We urge the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to resume the moratorium immediately,” he added. “We also urge the Eritrean authorities to continue to uphold their commitment to the terms of the moratorium.” Meanwhile, Eritrea said today its forces had repelled an Ethiopian assault on the western front, destroying or capturing several tanks, news agencies reported. Ethiopia’s ground assault began after Antonov warplanes and artillery bombarded Eritrean positions early this morning, AP quoted an Eritrean Foreign Ministry statement as saying. Ethiopia today confirmed fighting at the front, but declined to give details.