Ethiopia Reports on Eritrean Losses

Ethiopian soldiers killed, wounded or captured 7,800 Eritrean troops in three days of renewed fighting along their disputed border, a government spokeswoman said. Selome Tadesse did not give a breakdown of Eritrean casualties, saying only that Eritrean forces had launched an all-out war to seize Badme in Ethiopia’s northwest. Ethiopia lost the border post to its northern neighbor in May 1998 but recaptured it in February. In Eritrea, state-owned television said Eritreans had killed 2,300 Ethiopians and wounded 4,200 others. Eight Ethiopian soldiers were taken prisoner, the broadcast said.