Eritrea Concedes Areas to Ethiopia, Calls for Peace

Hard-pressed by a 12-day Ethiopian military offensive, Eritrea announced today that it was withdrawing from all disputed border lands and said there was no reason the neighboring countries, enemies in Africa’s bloodiest war, should continue fighting.

“Eritrea has decided, for the sake of peace, to accept the appeal . . . for de-escalation,” Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry said. The statement referred to calls by the Organization of African Unity for an end to the fighting.

The ministry said troops would withdraw to positions held before the war started two years ago. The conflict erupted when Eritrea sent tanks and soldiers on May 6, 1998, to seize territory along the countries’ poorly demarcated border.

The Ethiopian government said Wednesday night that its troops were victorious in the latest fighting, but there was no immediate confirmation of an Eritrean pullback.

The Ethiopian government said its latest offensive had “liberated” a good deal of territory occupied by the Eritreans.

“During the course of the military engagements, the Eritrean army sustained devastating human and material losses and is in serious peril,” government spokeswoman Selome Tadesse said.

She said her country’s army had smashed through Eritrean bunkers around the disputed town of Zalambessa and that Eritrean army units positioned there were “collapsing.”

On Monday, Eritrea had marked the anniversary of its 1993 independence from Ethiopia. Eritrea at the time admitted heavy losses in the war but predicted ultimate victory.

“There will be ups and downs, but Eritrea will win,” President Isaias Afwerki told thousands of people gathered at an independence ceremony in the capital, Asmara. The crowd roared its approval.

An Eritrean official said Wednesday that his country was prepared to stop fighting completely as long as Ethiopia did the same.

Ethiopia opened a major offensive against Eritrea this month to try to force an end to the war, in which an estimated 30,000 soldiers have died and on which the impoverished enemies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars.

Associated Press contributed to this report.