ETHIOPIA: REBEL FIGHTERS CONSOLIDATE THEIR CONTROL OF ADDIS ABABA AFTER DEFEATING GOVERNMENT TROOPS

Record ID: 375989

  • Title: ETHIOPIA: REBEL FIGHTERS CONSOLIDATE THEIR CONTROL OF ADDIS ABABA AFTER DEFEATING GOVERNMENT TROOPS
  • Date: 29th May 1991
  • Summary: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (MAY 28, 1991) 1. GV FLAMES FROM BURNING AMMUNITION DUMP BY PRESIDENTIAL PALACE 0.11 2. GVS/LV REBEL TANKS MOVE FORWARD INTO ADDIS ABABA FIRING THEIR GUNS (3 SHOTS) 0.54 3. LV ZOOM IN AND OUT BURNING GOVERNMENT TANK 1.12 4. SV REBELS ON THE STREETS 1.19 5. LV PAN/ SV REBEL TANK APPROACHING BURNING GOVERNMENT TANK (2 SHOTS) 1.37 6. SV PAN GOVERNMENT SOLDIER BEING TAKEN AWAY BY REBELS 1.46 7. CU PULL BACK DEAD GOVERNMENT SOLDIER WITH FINGER ON THE TRIGGER OF A KALASHNIKOV 1.55 8. SV PAN/ CU REBEL SOLDIER LISTENING TO RADIO AND EMBRACING (2 SHOTS) 2.13 9. SVS REBEL TANKS DRIVING THROUGH WOODS AROUND PALACE (2 SHOTS) 2.29 10. LVS CITIZENS JOINING CELEBRATIONS, REBELS FIRING IN AIR (2 SHOTS) 2.55 11. TV PAN/LV TANK CONVOY DRIVES INTO PALACE COMPOUND PAST WRECKED GOVERNMENT TANKS (6 SHOTS) 4.21 12. GV PAN TANKS OUTSIDE PALACE 4.32 13. CU REBEL TROOPS WASHING AT STANDPIPE BY TANK 4.40 14. LV REBEL TROOPS POSE FOR CAMERAMEN 4.50 15. TRAVELLING SHOT REBEL TANKS OUTSIDE PALACE 5.01 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 13th June 1991 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA73AXZW1LPWM2GZYNPJQ9CY4DT
  • Story Text: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

    Rebel Ethiopian fighters consolidated their control of the capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday (May 29), after defeating government troops in a dawn battle on Tuesday.

    Some 200 soldiers and civilians are thought to have died as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) battled their way into the city.But reprisals against supporters of the past 17 years of Marxist rule could multiply this toll because the rebels are known to have a list of "wanted criminals".

    After 30 years of civil war, rebel fighters smashed their way into the city in just three hours -- exactly a week after former Marxist military ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam fled into exile.

    The Ethiopian Red Cross said it believed more than 200 people died in 24 hours of violence -- including wild shooting by government troops before the rebels came in.It said 750 people, many of them women and children, were injured.

    Many residents defied a 24-hour curfew declared by the rebels and left their tin-roofed shanty homes to meet the invaders.Some cheered, but mostly the atmosphere was one of bewilderment and curiosity.

    In Tuesday's dawn assault, the rebels sprayed the presidential palace with heavy machine-gun fire, hitting two ammunition stores which exploded nearby sending sheets of flame high above the trees surrounding the palace.

    The rebels, equipped with Soviet-built tanks, fired anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers.The government soldiers put up little resistance.Many surrendered and many of their tanks and armoured personnel carries were destroyed.

    <strong>Source: REUTERS - MOHAMMED AMIN</strong>
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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