Battle of Massawa (1990)

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Battle of Massawa

Date	1990-02-08-1990-02-10
Location	Massawa, Eritrea
Result	Liberation of Massawa

Combatants

EPLF

Ethiopia

Casualties

3,000^[1]

6,000-9,000^[1]

The Battle of Massawa (alt. Second Battle of Massawa or Operation Fenkil) took place in 1990 in and around the coastal city of Massawa in Eritrea. This offensive was also dubbed the Fenkil Offensive and was conducted by both land and sea by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the Ethiopian Army.

[edit] The Battle

Beginning on 1990-02-08 the EPLF forces began the offensive by cutting of the critical supply route from the Asmara garrison. The surprise attack stunned the Ethiopian military and by the following afternoon the EPLF forces were in the suburbs of Massawa. On the third day of the offensive, 1990-02-10, the Eritrean forces captured the Ethiopian naval base near the town. The only remaining portion of the city to rid of Ethiopian troops were the islands.

To achieve this the Eritrean forces used their nascent naval forces (mostly small gunboats) to attack from by sea during an artillery barrage. Using this artillery fire the Eritrean armor moved onto the causeways that connected the islands with the mainland. The first of these tanks were destroyed by the Ethiopian garrison, however, they were eventually overcome by the EPLF.^[1] After this defeat the remainder of the Ethiopian forces retreated to Ghinda.

Even after the loss of Massawa, the Ethiopians continued their ariel bombardment of the city. The civilian population was hardest hit as the EPLF forces had followed the Ethiopian troops to Ghinda. Notable of this bombardment was that napalm and cluster bombs were used.^[2]^[3]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Killion, Tom (1998). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3437-8.
^ (1990-05-08) "Famine Relief in Ethiopia: An Update". Hearing Before the International Taskforce of the Select Committee on Hunger House of Representatives (101st Congress, 2nd Session): 75, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
^ The Red Sea, Suez Canal, Egypt to Aden, Yemen - Nov - March 2005. Retrieved on December 27, 2006.