Horn peace plan under threat

The prospects for peace remain uncertain

Despite renewed hopes of a ceasefire, fighting has continued between Ethiopia and Eritrea near the Eritrean towns of Guluj and Tesseney.

Both sides confirmed that a new outbreak of shelling and ground fighting had started on the western front, in spite of the Organisation of African Unity's attempts to broker a peace deal.

Eritrea has already said it is willing to sign a ceasefire agreement.

The Ethiopian delegation at the OAU's Algiers talks has asked for more time to carry out consultations in Addis Ababa before giving a response to the peace proposals.

But the Eritrean Government spokesman, Yemane Gebremeskel, dismissed Ethiopia's request for more time and said that by launching its offensives, Ethiopia had given its response on the ground.

Ethiopian Government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse said the new action was a counter-offensive "in line with the instructions to deal vigorously and decisively with provocative attacks made by the Eritrean army".

Eritrea, which has said it is willing to accept the deployment of a peacekeeping force as part of the OAU peace plan, accused Ethiopia of initiating the fighting.

It said clashes were also taking place on the central front near the town of Senafe, and around the Red Sea port of Assab.

A diplomatic source in Algiers said that Ethiopia would be issuing what he believed would be a generally positive statement on the substance of the talks.

Washington's special representative to the Horn of Africa, Anthony Lake, who is in Algiers, said that he was encouraged by Eritrea's acceptance of the plan and by Ethiopia's comments that it considers the talks to have been successful.

OAU mediators have spent nearly two weeks shuttling between the Ethiopian and Eritrean foreign ministers since presenting them with the revised peace plan.

The Eritrean Government spokesman said a letter conveying its acceptance had already been written.

Eritrean troops only recently recaptured Tesseney

He said that under the deal, there would be a ceasefire as soon as both sides signed.

The inclusion of a peacekeeping force in the OAU peace plan appears to be aimed at accommodating a recent Ethiopian demand for international security guarantees before it pulls back its troops.

The force would remain until the disputed border was demarcated by an international team.

Ethiopia would be required to redeploy its troops within two weeks of the arrival of the peacekeepers, and there would be a 25km zone of separation between the two armies.

Ethiopia's proposal - made public a week after the current round of talks began - was for the neutral force to be deployed on Eritrean territory. It is not yet known whether the OAU's proposal involves peacekeepers on Ethiopian soil as well.

Detention camps

The Eritrean authorities have meanwhile permitted Red Cross officials to visit camps where several thousand Ethiopians have been interned.

Sheketi camp: Red Cross is being allowed access

They have been given access to the Shikete camp, one of several sites where Ethiopians are being held, Mr Yemane said.

Journalists who visited the camp earlier this week reported that it contained mainly young men who spoke of having been rounded up from their homes by the police.

The Ethiopian Government says that about 7,500 Ethiopians were rounded up at the end of May.

The ICRC has been asked by the Eritrean Government to help with the repatriation to Ethiopia of any Ethiopians who choose to go.

Point of contention

The issue of Ethiopian and Eritrean citizens living in each other's countries has been a bitter point of contention throughout the two-year conflict.

Eritreans living in Addis Ababa have reported harassment by the Ethiopian authorities.

Ethiopia launched its offensive last month with the aim of recapturing disputed territory which Eritrea had taken in 1998.

Ethiopia sent its troops deep into Eritrean territory, before announcing that the war had ended because it had won back the disputed border areas.