 EPLF successes left Ethiopian Navy bases increasingly isolated as 1990 wore on.By the spring of 1991, the navys ships had begun to use ports in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen because of the danger of returning to their home bases.In late May 1991, the EPLF captured Asmara and surrounded Assab, where fire from its ground forces sank seven Ethiopian Navy ships in port.