Fierce fighting in western Eritrea

Fierce fighting is continuing in western Eritrea, where Ethiopia has accused the Eritreans of launching a big offensive against its troops.

The Ethiopians say they were in the act of withdrawing from the town of Guluj, which they seized more than a month ago.

But they say they are now moving back into the area after the Eritrean attack.

A BBC correspondent who has just been to the front line saw the bodies of more than a-hundred Eritrean soldiers scattered across the parched terrain.

Many had been killed by bullets, others by artillery fire. At one point, the bodies were lying in a line about ten metres apart; an Eritrean survivor said that he and his comrades had been ordered to line up and advance on Ethiopian positions.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service