Ethiopian troops 'advance'

There have been international calls on Ethiopia to halt advance

Ethiopia says it has inflicted heavy damage on retreating Eritrean troops as its forces move further into western Eritrea.

An Ethiopian Government statement said the army had captured the western town of Om Hajer, close to the border with Sudan.

Ethiopia said Eritrean troops further north around the town of Teseney were fleeing following heavy losses on the western front. Some Eritrean troops were said to be crossing into Sudan.

The moves came as foreign nationals prepared to leave the Eritrean capital Asmara.

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Further bombing raids by the Ethiopian air force have also been reported.

Eritrea fears up to one million people could be eventually displaced

An anti-aircraft missile site near the town of Mendefera in the south of the country was hit and destroyed on Saturday, an Ethiopian government spokeswoman said.

Bombing raids on the Sawa military training camp in western Eritrea "inflicted heavy damage", she added.

Two-year war

The declared aim of Ethiopia's offensive is to destroy the Eritrean military completely in order to end the two-year conflict along their common border.

The BBC's Peter Biles in Addis Ababa says Eritrea has undoubtedly suffered intense humiliation in recent days.

Its forces in the west are cut off, and the speed of Ethiopian advances has surprised almost everybody.

There have been international calls for Ethiopia to halt its advance.

Pulling out

The United States has begun a partial evacuation of its embassy in the Eritrean capital.

British, Canadian and Israeli nationals, and private US citizens were expected to join the exodus.

An estimated 300 evacuees were gathering at a hotel on the edge of Asmara after registering for a special flight which was due to leave on Sunday.

Ethiopia claims to have moved within 100 km (60 miles) of Asmara.

Ethiopia's stated aim is to destroy Eritrean military

US spokeswoman Collette Christian said 12 embassy workers would remain in the capital.

Presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel insisted that Asmara was not in danger and accused Washington of failing to speak out strongly since Ethiopian forces stormed Eritrea.

"The lack of a strong US condemnation of the Ethiopian invasion is disappointing and inexplicable," he said.

Drought

With no end in sight to the fighting, Asmara has said the number of displaced people could swell to one million.

Eritrea has said it needs immediate food supplies to reach an estimated 550,000 on the move after Ethiopia's military gains.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday said the renewed war in the Horn would have tragic consequences for innocent people, who were already suffering from hunger and drought.

Mr Annan said that 350,000 people needed "immediate humanitarian assistance" because of the drought in Eritrea alone and said another eight million needed help in Ethiopia.

'Streaming in'

Thousands of the estimated 550,000 Eritreans uprooted by the fighting are seeking refuge across the Sudanese border.

Lindsey Davies of the UN's World Food Programme said most were women and children, "streaming in by foot, by donkey and by truck".

Aid agencies estimated that 12,250 refugees had fled into Sudan at three crossings in recent days, Mr Davies said.

The independent Al-Sahafi Al-Dawli newspaper in Sudan said that 70,000 Eritreans had entered Sudan by Friday night.

In Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Government said its nationals in Eritrea were "in grave danger", adding that four people had been killed and hundreds seriously wounded in attacks between 13 and 18 May.

Ethiopia says it doesn't intend to over-run Eritrea

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