NAIROBI Eritrea on Wednesday accused Ethiopia of badly wounding eight civilians in an air raid on a village as vengeance for heavy losses in fighting, but Addis Ababa strongly denied military setbacks. The Foreign Ministry in Asmara said an air attack took place on the southwestern village of Kinafina in a sign of despair and an apparent attempt to take revenge after the defeat on the Tsorona front, in a communique released to AFP here.

Eritrea on Tuesday said its army had inflicted heavy casualties on Ethiopian troops on the Tsorona central front in the Horn of Africa border war, repulsing a major offensive, killing thousands of soldiers and destroying 57 tanks. Ethiopian government Spokeswoman Salome Tadesse on Wednesday forcefully rejected Asmara's claim of the gains at Tsorona, the wrecking of the tanks and the shooting down of Mig-23 aircraft.

(AFP)