Ethiopians advance into Eritrea

Protesters threw stones at Western embassies

The Ethiopian army is reinforcing its military presence in western Eritrea after a major offensive.

Ethiopian trucks carrying soldiers and equipment, as well as fuel tankers, were seen by BBC correspondent Peter Biles making their way along one of the tortuous roads into western Eritrea.

Meanwhile in New York, the United States has called on the United Nations to impose arms embargoes on Ethiopia and Eritrea because they had ignored a deadline to stop fighting.

The Eritrean army has been forced to retreat from the western front

But Russia made an alternative proposal and the UN Security Council is not expected to vote until later this week.

Despite its military success, Ethiopia has admitted that one of its combat helicopters was brought down on Monday.

Eritrea had claimed to have shot down a Sukhoi 27 as well as a helicopter gunship in the fighting.

Supply line threatened

The Eritrean town of Shambuko has been virtually destroyed, with decomposing bodies lying on the battlefield after the retreat of the Eritrean army.

Click here to see a map of the area

The Ethiopians say the fighting is now close to the strategically-important town of Barentu.

It lies on an important supply route between two sections of the Eritrean front line.

Both sides claim to have killed thousands of enemy soldiers in the past three days.

Fighting began early on Friday, spreading rapidly from the western front to two other battle fronts.

Although war originally broke out in May 1998, the disputed border has been largely quiet since the middle of 1999.

Demonstrations in Addis

The news came as hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians joined a demonstration condemning United Nations Security Council plans for sanctions against the warring neighbours.

The demonstration became violent at times, with stones thrown at Western journalists and embassies.

The protests in Addis Ababa were against UN demands for an immediate halt to the fighting with Eritrea.

Ethiopian flags and patriotic slogans among a crowd of thousands

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said at the weekend that, by threatening sanctions, the Security Council was "punishing the victim of aggression, Ethiopia".

Ethiopians fear that their landlocked country will suffer particularly badly as a result of the proposed sanctions.

On Ethiopia's northern border, BBC correspondent Peter Biles flew with Ethiopian military officers in a helicopter over Eritrean territory now occupied by Ethiopian soldiers near the western part of the front line.

The helicopter crossed the Mereb River, which at that point forms the internationally recognised boundary between the two countries, and flew over the abandoned Eritrean trenches.

Our correspondent says the Eritreans have suffered a major setback on the western front, although the position along other sections of the border is less clear.

Click here to return