World Notes ETHIOPIA

Through the parched Eritrean highlands in northern Ethiopia, 25 trucks rumbled along a rough, winding road. Their cargo: 674 metric tons of food, enough to feed 30,000 people for a month, destined for drought victims in the provinces of Eritrea and Tigre.

The relief never reached its destination. About 25 miles south of the Eritrean capital of Asmara, secessionist rebels of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front opened fire on the unarmed, unescorted convoy, killing one driver and wounding three others. After clearing the vehicles of passengers, the rebels blasted the trucks with grenades, setting them ablaze. Half the food was burned beyond salvage, and all the vehicles were destroyed. The rebels claimed that some trucks carried government bombs and ammunition. "Completely untrue," said Michael Priestly, coordinator of the U.N. relief effort. "The people who did this did not even look under the tarpaulins."