The Battle of Tsorona was an engagement between the Eritrean and the

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

armies fought near the border town of Tsorona. Eritrean government statements identified Ethiopian armed forces as the aggressors and the Ethiopian government using a smokescreen of propaganda to justify the attack.

Background

Relations between

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

have been brittle and tensions between the two countries have remained high after both countries fought each other in the

Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 6, 1998 to June 18, 2000. After 1993 Eritrean independence referendum, Eritrea gained independence from E ...

which lasted from 1998 to 2000, and since the end of the war there have been a number of small border skirmishes between the two countries using small arms, however the 2016 engagement utilized "medium- and long-range artillery".

Battle

Eritrean claims

According to the Eritrean Information Ministry, Ethiopian forces attacked Eritrean troops at Tsorona on Sunday, June 12, 2016. After an overnight battle, the troops were repelled on Monday, June 13, 2016. Ethiopian forces quickly withdrew back over the border, with Eritrea estimating Ethiopian losses at 200 dead and 300 wounded, Eritrea claims 18 losses during the battle.

Ethiopian claims

Ethiopian government spokesman

Getachew Reda Getachew Reda Kahsay ( Tigrinya and Amharic: ጌታቸው ረዳ ካሕሳይ; born June 1974) is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as the Minister Advisor for East African Affairs. Before this role, he served as the Chief Administrator of t ...

initially denied any knowledge of clashes between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Subsequent comments by the Ethiopian government spokesman claimed "there were significant casualties on both sides."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsorona, Battle of 2016 in Eritrea June 2016 in Ethiopia Battles of the Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict June 2016 in Africa Battles in 2016