The Battle of Af Abet and Eritrean Independence

Abstract

In March 1988, the Eritrean People's Liberation Army (EPLA) won a major victory on the Nacfa front, overrunning Af Abet, the command center and main supply base for the Nadew command.1 A skillful EPLA ambush a few miles north of Af Abet caught and destroyed a sizable convoy, containing at least 60 vehicles many from the 29th Mechanized Brigade. In a display of brilliant improvisation, this was immediately followed by an assault on Af Abet, itself. The EPLA took advantage of Ethiopian incompetence, an over-concentration of Ethiopian forces in a non-strategic area with little scope for retreat down the rough and narrow road to Keren, and an absence of senior officers at the critical moment.2 It was an impressive performance, scattering a multidivisional force of about 20,000 men, with thousands killed and captured as well as whole units dispersed in flight; more important, large quantities of ammunition and weapons were seized, including about 50 tanks and 122mm artillery pieces. The EPLA even captured sufficient ammunition at Af Abet to allow its forces to have day-long live firing exercises; for the first time anti-aircraft gunners were able to get live ammunition practice. As a propaganda bonus, three Soviet advisers were captured, and one killed. The British historian Basil Davidson, who was in the area at the time, immediately compared it to Dien Bien Phu.3 Other proEritrean observers picked up the comparison, claiming with some exaggeration that three infantry divisions and a mechanized brigade had