Battle of Afabet

Battle of Afabet
Part of the Eritrean War of Independence and the Ethiopian Civil War
Date17–20 March 1988
Location
Afabet, Ethiopia
16°11′00″N 38°41′00″E / 16.183333°N 38.683333°E / 16.183333; 38.683333
Result EPLF victory
Belligerents
EPLF Ethiopia Ethiopia
 Soviet Union (advisors)[1]
Commanders and leaders
Mesfin Hagos
Gebregziabher Andemariam		 Ethiopia Getaneh Haile
Ethiopia Wubetu Tsegaye
Strength
15,000–20,000 15,223[2]
Casualties and losses
4,000–5,000 killed[3]
5,000 wounded		 Ethiopia
8,000–9,000 killed
5,000 captured[3]
Soviet Union
1 killed
3 captured
Battle of Afabet is located in Eritrea
Battle of Afabet
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Location within Eritrea

The Battle of Afabet was a three-day battle fought from 17 March through 20 March 1988 in and around the town of Afabet, as part of the Eritrean War of Independence.[4] The battle has been described as being the largest battle in Africa since the Second Battle of El Alamein.[5] It has been described as the most significant battle in terms of military and political consequences since the Ethio-Somali War, alongside the 1989 Battle of Shire of the Ethiopian Civil War.[6]

  1. ^ "Attempts to distort history". Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  2. ^ Perlez, Jane (19 February 1990). "Prisoner No. 14279: Forlorn Pawn in Ethiopia's Long and Ruinous Civil War". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b "Afabet, March 1988: The Decisive Battle for Eritrean Independence" (PDF).
  4. ^ Battiata, Mary (24 March 1988). "Ethiopian Rebels Claim Huge Victory". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Tareke, Gebru (2004). "From Af Abet to Shire: The Defeat and Demise of Ethiopia's 'Red' Army 1988–89". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 42 (2): 239–281. ISSN 0022-278X.