UPDATE: Late on May 22, Ethiopia announced the capture of May Mine and the surrounding district known as Kohain in southern Seraye. May Mine is on a spur of the highland plateau, 25 km west of the Asmara-Adwa highway (see map). Elsewhere, Eritrea denied the loss of Om Hajer while Eritrea and Ethiopia offered conflicting accounts of a small skirmish on the Burie front.

Over 200 foreigners and Eritreans with foreign passports left Asmara yesterday but some Eritreans with dual nationality were prevented from leaving by the Eritrean government on grounds that they were eligible for military conscription. The US charged $1,000 for the one-way flight to Frankfurt.

BBC (A. Last) reported "diplomatic sources say that Ethiopian forces are around 20 km from the town of Mendefera but are facing early resistance."

Ethiopia said the fronts were quiet today and that the Eritrean army had decided to abandon the Sawa base after repeated bombing by the Ethiopian air force.

Aid Corridor for Eritrean Civilians?
The current humanitarian crisis in Eritrea is distressing. No one can watch the suffering of innocent civilians without feeling deep sadness. Although Ethiopians still vividly recall Eritrea’s barbarous attacks on Mekele and Adigrat, there are few who want revenge. There are none who repeat the primitive statement by the Eritrean air force officer Habtezion Hadgu, who boasted to the AP about the Mekele massacre by saying “one to one-hundred: that is the exchange rate.”

At this time of crisis in Eritrea, Ethiopia should offer a safe corridor for aid supplies to reach Eritrean civilians from Port Sudan via Kassala. The exact details could be worked out between Sudan, Ethiopia, and the UN. Ethiopia shouild not hesitate to show its compassion for the Eritrean civilians.

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