[1] The town of Barentu was defended by a large garrison of Ethiopian troops.

The garrison had constructed numerous fortifications to improve the defensibility of the town.

Furthermore, a local Kunama militia had been raised to support the Ethiopian troops.

This close air support inflicted heavy casualties on the forces of the ELF and EPLF who were conducting their first major joint operation.

The failure of this joint operation would have significant consequences later in the War of Independence.