battle, Cold War

Battle of Afabet

Name: Battle of Afabet
Start: 1988-03-17
Location: Afabet, Eritrea

Battle of Afabet was a battle fought on 17 March 1988 at Afabet, in what is now Eritrea; it lasted 3 days. It was part of the Eritrean War of Independence, which ran from 1961 to 1991. The recorded result: EPLF victory. Recorded strength: 15,000–20,000 against 15,223.

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Fought17 March 1988lasted 3 days

WhereAfabet, Eritrea16.183N, 38.683E

OutcomeEPLF victory

BelligerentsEPLFagainstEthiopia; Soviet Union (advisors)

Casualties and losses4,000–5,000 killed; 5,000 woundedand8,000–9,000 killed; 5,000 captured; 1 killed; 3 captured

Part ofEritrean War of Independence1961 to 1991

Where it sits in the Eritrean War of Independence

10 placed engagements of the Eritrean War of Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	17 March 1988 to 20 March 1988
Place	Afabet, Eritrea 16.183N, 38.683E
Kind	Battle, Cold War
Strength	15,000–20,000	15,223
Casualties and losses	4,000–5,000 killed; 5,000 wounded	8,000–9,000 killed; 5,000 captured; 1 killed; 3 captured
Commanders	Mesfin Hagos Gerezgiher Andemariam

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Keren 1941, 52 km SW
Attack on Convoy BN 7 1940, 104 km SE
Battle of Agordat 1941, 111 km SW
Battle of Halai 1894, 140 km SE
Siege of Barentu 1977, 166 km SW

In the same war

Before: Siege of Barentu 5 May 1977
After: Battle of Massawa 1990
All 10 engagements of Eritrean War of Independence

Elsewhere in 1988

Battle for Hill 3234 Afghanistan
Operation Praying Mantis United Arab Emirates
Johnson South Reef skirmish Vietnam
Operation Ramadan ul-Mubarak Iraq
Battle of Hargeisa Somaliland

Battle of Afabet is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 23 in present-day Eritrea.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2039487, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Afabet, revision 1384006043, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.