by a second attack that the Somalis did not expect. A column of Ethiopian and Cuban troops crossed northeast into the highlands between Jijiga and the border with Somalia, bypassing the SNA-WSLF force defending the Marda Pass. The attackers were thus able to assault from two directions in a "pincer" action, allowing the re-capture of Jijiga in only two days while killing 3,000 defenders. The Somali defense collapsed and every major Ethiopian town was recaptured in the following weeks. Recognizing that his position was untenable, Siad Barre ordered the SNA to retreat back into Somalia on 9 March 1978, although Rene LaFort claims that the Somalis, having foreseen the inevitable, had already withdrawn its heavy weapons. The last significant Somali unit left Ethiopia on 15 March 1978, marking the end of the war. 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War The 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War occurred between June and August 1982 when the Ethiopian military, supported by hundreds of SSDF rebels invaded central Somalia and captured several towns. After a SNA force infiltrated the Ogaden, joined with the WSLF and attacked an Ethiopian army unit outside Shilabo, about 150 kilometers northwest of Beled weyne, Ethiopia retaliated by launching an operation against Somalia. On June 30, 1982, Ethiopian army units, together with SSDF guerrillas, struck at several points along Ethiopia's southern border with Somalia. They crushed the SNA unit in Balanbale and then occupied the town and captured Galdogob, about 50 kilometers northwest of Galcaio. After the United States provided emergency military assistance to Somalia, further Ethiopian attacks ceased. However, the Ethiopian/SSDF units remained in Balanbale and Galdogob, which Addis Ababa maintained were part of Ethiopia that had been liberated by the Ethiopian army. Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence (1 September 1961 – 24 May 1991) was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea's autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was unilaterally revoked. Eritrea had become part of Ethiopia after World War II, when both territories were liberated from Italian occupation. Ethiopia claimed that Eritrea was part of Ethiopia, especially wanting to maintain access to the Red Sea. The Military of Somalia supplied the Eritreans with military hardware and provided training. The EPLF leaders and members were given Somali passports to travel the world in search of education and jobs to finance