500,000 flee as Ethiopian troops storm Eritrea

Ethiopian troops pushed deeper into Eritrea, capturing the town of Barentu, the command centre of the Eritrean army in the northwest, in its massive offensive to end a two-year border conflict.

Ethiopian troops pushed deeper into Eritrea, capturing the town of Barentu, the command centre of the Eritrean army in the northwest, in its massive offensive to end a two-year border conflict.

After several days of heavy fighting, involving artillery, aircraft and infantry, Ethiopian troops moved into Barentu, claims an Ethiopian government spokesman.

Eritrea confirmed late last night that it's troops had withdrawn from Barentu, which is 25 miles north of the border. A government statement, broadcast on state-run media, said the town was being evacuated to avoid loss of civilian life and the total destruction of the town.

Eritrea was teetering on the edge of a humanitarian crisis as at least 500,000 people fled along roads leading from the embattled area around Barentu, an Eritrean aid organisation said. The region has already been stricken by a severe drought.

"Emergency food is needed desperately," said Abraham Kahsai, a spokesman for the Eritrean Relif and Refugee Commission."

The latest round of fighting in the two-year war over the 620-mile border began May 12 with an offensive the Ethiopians hope will put a rapid end to the conflict.

There was no indication that Ethiopia intended to halt its offensive. Haile Kiros said there was "still a long way to go (with the war) because certain areas (of Ethiopian territory) are still occupied."

He called the capture of Barentu a major blow for the Eritreans, saying it amounted to losing "the whole western part of Eritrea."

Earlier, Haile Kiros, who accompanied reporters to the area, said the goal was to defeat the opposing army, secure the territory around the contested border and withdraw.

"Even if we want to hold it, we cannot afford to," he said. "If there is anything Eritrea wants to claim, and as long as they do not do it militarily, we will have talks and try to solve it legally."

In New York, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved an arms embargo against Ethiopia and Eritrea late Wednesday. It will be terminated immediately if Secretary-General Kofi Annan reports that "a peaceful definitive settlement of the conflict" has been concluded.

Otherwise, the council will review compliance with the embargo after 12 months and decide whether it should be extended.

In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the African Development Bank announced that it had postponed its annual meeting scheduled for May 30-June 1 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"Developments in the region will be closely monitored, and the matter of the annual meetings will be reviewed later in the year," an ADB statement said.

In the Eritrean capital, Asmara, a presidential spokesman said Thursday that the U.N. embargo against his country was "not fair" because the sanctions do not differentiate between the victim and aggressor.

"It is not just," said the spokesman, Yemane Gebremeskel. "Ethiopia is the aggressor. This has never been a border war. Ethiopia has used the border issue as a pretext to invade Eritrea."

Ethiopia also criticised the U.N. decision to impose the embargo. Haile Kiros called the Security Council's action "wrong and meaningless."

He said the embargo had been "imposed on the victim (Ethiopia)" contrary to the U.N. Charter which "says support the victim."

Anyway, he added that the arms embargo would have little effect because of all the Eritrean arms captured by Ethiopian forces.

"We have got enough supplies from the Eritreans themselves to defeat Eritrea, so it is too late to stop the war," he said.

Late Wednesday, the Eritrean government asked local U.N. officials to seek emergency international aid for Eritreans displaced by the latest round of fighting that began May 12 with the Ethiopian drive on the Badme border area southeast of Barentu.

Simon Nhongo, the U.N. resident coordinator for Eritrea, said the government had requested 700 tons of high-energy biscuits, 150 tons of milk powder and 15 tanker truckers to carry water.

In Lisbon, the 15-member European Union, one of the major aid donors to both nations, called for an immediate stop to the fighting and an unconditional resumption of frustrated peace talks sponsored by the Organisation of African Unity. Portupied Badme. But Haile Kiros said the border issue was a "secondary" issue. He blamed Eritrea for trying to put a stranglehold on the economic life of Ethiopia, which became landlocked after Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and kept the Red Sea ports.

Most Eritreans view the war as a David-versus-Goliath contest with the larger Ethiopia, with an estimated population of 61.7 million, determined to dominate upstart Eritrea, population 4 million.