Somali-backed secessionist forces claimed Monday they killed 219 Ethiopians during an advance on Harrar, one of the last
Ethiopian strongholds in the disputed Ogaden desert region.

The Western Somalia Liberation Front WSLF said in communique its forces now hold all the villages surrounding Harrar after
bloody clashes near the city. Harrar is less than 280 miles west of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Abada.

There was no independent confirmation of the guerrillas' battle claims.  But diplomatic sources in Nairobi said the insurgents
appear to be within heavy artillery range of the ancient city.

Reports reaching Nairobi said Ethiopia is pouring men and armor into the area around Harrar for what could be a major battle
in the 10-week-old war for the arid Ogaden region.

The Ethiopians are reported to be receiving large seaborne shipments of Soviet weaponry, including T55 tanks, truckmounted
rocket batteries and long-range artillery through the Red Sea port of Assab.

The WSLF, composed of ethinic Somalis living in Ethiopia's southern territories, seeks to end Ethiopian rule of their traditional
homelands and annex them to neighboring Somalia.

The Associated Press (AP)

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