Humanitarian crisis threatens Eritrea

Eritrea fears a humanitarian crisis as more than 500,000 people flee advancing Ethiopian forces in the south-west of the country.

Ethiopia says it has extended the war beyond the border area to include bombing raids around the main seaport at Massawa.

Ethiopian Government spokesperson Salome Tadesse said the air force had attacked positions 200km northeast of the main area of fighting.

But the spokesperson said Ethiopia had no intention of seizing control of Eritrea and its only objective was to regain border territory under Eritrean occupation.

Ethiopia earlier captured the strategic town of Barentu. The Eritreans are now reported to have evacuated the next major town in the area, Akordat, as a precautionary measure.

The conflict is likely to destroy the next harvest in the country's main food-prodcuing region.

We are scrambling around to try and source the quantities and kinds of food we will need to sustain a very large population on the move

Brenda Barton, WFP

The Eritrean Government's Relief and Refugee Commission says 550,000 people are on the move, trying to escape the advancing Ethiopian army.

It has appealed for international help both for them and for a further 350,000 people who it says are already affected by drought in the area.

"It is no less than a humanitarian crisis," said agency official Worku Tesfamichael.

World Food Programme Brenda Barton described the situation as "very serious".

"At the moment we are scrambling around to try and source the quantities and kinds of food we will need to sustain a very large population on the move," she said.

Emergency supplies

The UN's representative in Asmara, Simon Nhongo, said the Eritrean Government had asked the UN to help out in providing emergency supplies, such as tents, blankets, relief food and water storage facilities.

Eritrea is sending in reinforcements

Western Eritrea is the nation's agricultural heartland, providing more than half the country's total agricultural production.

Normally, the land would be ploughed at this time of year in preparation for the rains which are expected in the next month.

The war has ruled out the possibility of a harvest, which means Eritrea will be dependent on international aid to feed at least half its population for months to come.

Evacuations

The major western town of Barentu was emptied of its population before the Eritrean army announced late on Wednesday that it was making a strategic withdrawal.

The government has now told the people to leave Akordat, the next major town on the main road, 60km to the north-east.

In one of Asmara's hospitals, civilian cases were hurriedly discharged to clear the way for the arrival of the first batch of wounded soldiers from the front.

Thousands of displaced people were already living in the area

There are reports that some Eritrean forces already have been withdrawn from Akordat, to bolster the defences at Keren - the last town before the capital.

Ethiopian advance

Eritreans fear that the Ethiopians will push further towards Asmara, but Ethiopian Government spokesman Haile Kiros said the main aim was to secure the Barentu area, and then push eastwards to the two other war zones where Eritrea occupies disputed territory.

Eritreans are beginning to leave the town of Mendefera in anticipation of the Ethiopian advance.

Capturing Mendefera would give Ethiopia control over the last section of the western front.

This would open the way for an assault on Zalambessa - a town on the central part of the front line, which was captured by Eritrea earlier in the war.

The UN security council has announced arms sanctions against both Eritrea and Ethiopia, but observers say both armies have enough weapons stockpiled to enable fighting to continue for some time.

Both countries feel the bilateral arms embargo is unfair. Eritrea believes Ethiopia alone should be punished for starting the current round of fighting last Friday, while Ethiopia believes Eritrea started the war in the first place.

A BBC correspondent in in Addis Ababa says Ethiopia appears more than willing to face the consequences of international condemnation over its week-long offensive.