Ethiopia denies big attack on Eritrea

Ethiopia has dismissed accusations from Eritrea that it launched a large-scale offensive close to the Eritrean Red Sea port of Assab.

Ethiopia said its forces were retaliating against provocations from the Eritrean side.

A BBC correspondent in Eritrea says it is not possible to verify independently who started the fighting, which followed several days of artillery exchanges.

Earlier, the Eritreans said Ethiopia had deployed three divisions - some twenty-thousand men - in the attack.

They said fighting was on the eastern front line -- away from areas which have seen some of the heaviest clashes. The new flare-up follows recent peace moves between the two countries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service