The significance to the Ethiopian regime of the loss of Afabet cannot be overstated. In this single battle, Ethiopia lost whole divisions of its best-trained and armed troops. Worse still, it left behind a weapons stockpile that it had amassed to carry out what it believed was to have been 'a decisive offensive' against the EPLF.
The loss of Afabet was a devastating blow to the Ethiopian regime, resulting in significant losses of its most skilled and well-equipped troops. The defeat also left behind a substantial arsenal that had been intended for a planned offensive against the EPLF.