Ethiopia upped the political stakes in the war with Eritrea yesterday by bombing the main military airbase outside Asmara. It was the first attack of the war on the Eritrean capital.
Ethiopian and Eritrean foreign ministers were returning to peace talks in Algeria when four Ethiopian fighter jets attacked the airbase, which is adjacent to Asmara's civilian airport.
A Red Cross aircraft was being unloaded when the raid started. Aid agencies estimate that at least 250,000 Eritrean civilians have fled their homes as a result of the Ethiopian offensive.
Early reports said that two civilians were killed and one building went on fire. Two Eritrean jets on the tarmac were undamaged.
The chief of staff of the Ethiopian defence forces, Lt Gen Tsadkan Gebre-Tensae, told a press conference that "almost all" of Ethiopia's military objectives have been achieved.
Since the current offensive started on May 13th, Ethiopia has captured nearly all of the disputed territory that sparked the war two years ago. The only remaining zones are at Bure and Bada along the eastern border.
Lt Gen Gebre-Tensae attributed Ethiopia's success to the "meticulous planning and superb execution" of the offensive under his command, as well as the "high political inspiration of the leaders and the led".
He accused western journalists of being racially biased in portraying the Ethiopian attack as a "mass of flesh with no brain", making particular reference to reports stating that Ethiopia uses donkeys to clear enemy mine fields.
Yesterday's bombing of the airbase, combined with an attack on a power station at Hirgigo, also near Asmara, over the weekend, confirmed that Ethiopia intends to weaken the Eritrean state as much as possible before calling a ceasefire.
"They are targeting the statemilitary capability, just like NATO did against the Serbs in Kosovo," a western analyst in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, said.
The Ethiopian spokeswoman, Ms Salome Taddesse, said that while her government's aim was to degrade Eritrea's military capability it would stop fighting as soon as "100 per cent" of the disputed land was reclaimed.