Yemen-Ethio War

War in East Africa

Yemeni assault on Ethiopia proves deadly for both

The Republic of Yemen engages it its first military conflict in 1957, 2 years after its founding, in a flurry of attacks against Ethiopia leaving both sides at a loss. It all began when Yemeni planes bombed patrol boats in the Red Sea, which was promptly reported back to Addis Ababa and noted. However, the next movements of the Yemeni Army were not from across the Gulf, but from Sudan as an assault was launched across the border. The motive seems to be to destroy the proposed Renaissance Dam, a huge project announced by Ethiopia last year which would dam the Blue Nile River. Proponents claim that the Dam would add much needed power supply for millions, as well as boost the economy which has stagnated for the last decade. Critics however point out that the Dam would destroy the livelihoods of millions in the lower stretches of the river, especially in Egypt and to a degree @Sudan, where millions live off of the fertile floodplains. Egypt is one of the larger cotton sources worldwide, and due to the tensions between United Kingdom and India they have proved to be very important.

[9:29 PM]

The dam was destroyed by Yemeni bombers flying what some Ethiopian reconnaissance believe to be planes from the USA though these claims cannot be confirmed. Despite the surprise attack, Ethiopia was surprisingly organized in their reactions and managed to shoot down fighters. However, the original hours of the expedition proved critical as Yemenis were able to push straight into Gondar (though failing to reach Bahir Dar via Highway 3). Despite this success the Yemeni forces are not popular and have been harangued by local citizens alongside the Ethiopian military. They may fall back soon. Ethiopian forces marched from Eritrea and hit Yemeni forces in their back. A huge force smashed into the back of the Yemeni forces. The Yemeni were initially caught off guard but due to quick response they were able to deal heavy losses to the Ethiopian forces While fighting the Ethiopian force from Eritrea the Yemeni were again caught off guard as they were hit by a huge army from Mekelle causing collapse of the Yemeni ranks. While the civilian Ethiopians watched a victory on land (somewhat) on the land, as they looked to the sky, they saw a different scenario. Hundred of attack aircrafts met in the sky from both sides. As soon as the aerial dogfights began, the American F-102 Delta Daggers outclassed the MIG-17. The Soviet Sukhoi Su-9 saw initial success but due to lack of numerical advantage, they were beaten back. The Yemeni air-force was damaged but had control of the skies. but..... As the Yemeni were fighting the Ethiopian air crafts, the majority of the Ethiopian air force (20 MIG-19 & 75 Sukhoi Su-9) attacked the Yemeni navy in the Red sea, due to lack of attack aircraft concentration over the naval forces, the navy was beaten badly and most of the ships were sunk The land progress was halted as the Yemeni took control of the skies, the battle has spread out throughout the city as both forces fight each others in the streets.