“ This is the Horn of Africa, gentlemen. I hope you like it, because we're going to be here a while. - Burning Sands mission briefing”
The Eritrean war was a conflict in 2009 instigated by Tesfaye Wolde. A multinational force stepped in and drove back Wolde's forces which adopted a scorched-earth policy. Eventually a Ghost Recon team captured Wolde and the conflict ended.
Background
In the wake of the upheaval in Russia, a series of small brushfire wars erupted around the world. One of the deadliest was a resumption of hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was spurred by a coup in Addis Ababa. Armed with Russian weaponry, the Ethiopian military, led by a man named Colonel Tesfaye Wolde, made a successful grab for the Eritrean coastline. The Ethiopian offensive sent the Eritrean forces into hurried retreat. Shipping on the Red Sea was disrupted, and relief efforts in the interior came crashing to a halt. At the request of the Eritrean government, and in order to avert a humanitarian crisis, an international coalition was built in response. The Ghosts were the spearhead of this force. Their job was to lead the way for the multinational force and to help push the invading troops back to their own border.
Timeline of the War
- Colonel Tesfaye Wolde, an Ethiopian arms dealer, invades Eritrea.
- The Ghosts were sent in as part of a UN force. They were deployed on May 16 to establish a beachhead and capture a radio tower.
- The team then neutralized a staging point at a train station.
- After the Ethiopians started a scorched-earth policy, the Ghosts salvaged a key oil refinery.
- In early June the Ghosts escorted a relief convoy, stopping Ethiopians from destroying it.
- The Ghosts also destroyed the wreckage of a crashed Aurora spyplane.
- The Ghosts then captured the warlord Ashenafi Abate and gained intelligence on local minefields.
- Their next operation was to help a UN force break through a roadblock.
- On June 25, as Wolde personally tried to rally his forces, he was captured by the Ghosts and their allies.
Appearances
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon novel (Mentioned only)
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege