Ethiopian Rebels Say They Killed 173 Troops
Rebels in the northern Ethiopian province of Eritrea said Monday that they killed 173 government soldiers, wounded 150 and captured four in fighting between Thursday and Saturday of last week.
The radio station of the rebel Eritrean People’s Liberation Front said the Ethiopian army had moved the troops up from Mendefera, 30 miles south of the provincial capital of Asamra, and Dekemehare, 20 miles southeast of Asmara, but it did not say where the fighting took place.
The radio, monitored in Nairobi, said the front’s guerrillas forced one Ethiopian army brigade and two regiments to retreat to their base.
It added that in an attack on an army patrol in the northwestern province of Gondar last Friday, the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement, allies of the front, killed 12 government soldiers.
The Ethiopian government does not comment on rebel accounts of military activities.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
