Atlas of Battles

siege, Cold War

Siege of Barentu

Siege of Barentu was a siege conducted on 5 May 1977 at Barentu, in what is now Eritrea. It was part of the Eritrean War of Independence, which ran from 1961 to 1991. The recorded result: Ethiopian victory.

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Fought5 May 1977
WhereBarentu, Eritrea15.117N, 37.600E
OutcomeEthiopian victory
BelligerentsEPLF; ELFagainstEthiopia
Casualties and losses550 killedandUnknown
Part ofEritrean War of Independence1961 to 1991

Where it sits in the Eritrean War of Independence

Battle of Adal, 1961Battle of Omal, 1961Agordat Operation, 1962Battle of Halhal, 1962Battle of Ansaba, 1963Battle of Togoruba, 1964Siege of Nakfa, 1976Battle of Massawa, 1977Siege of Barentu, 1977Battle of Afabet, 1988Battle of Massawa, 199019611990Siege of Barentu, 1977
11 placed engagements of the Eritrean War of Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date5 May 1977
to 1977
PlaceBarentu, Eritrea
15.117N, 37.600E
KindSiege, Cold War
Casualties and losses550 killedUnknown
Commanders
  • Petros Solomon
  • Merid Negussie
Siege of BarentuSiege of BarentuBattle of AgordatBattle of KerenBattle of AfabetBattle of HalaiBattle of AdwaBattle of AgordatBattle of KerenBattle of AfabetBattle of AdwaAsmaraKassalaMendeferaAksumTessenei100 km15.117N, 37.600E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1977

Siege of Barentu is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 24 in present-day Eritrea.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4337360, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Barentu, revision 1370739281, 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.