Fighting rages in Eritrea as peace talks start

Ethiopia said yesterday it had withdrawn its army from western Eritrea after a two-week offensive, claiming it had achieved its military objectives.

Ethiopia said yesterday it had withdrawn its army from western Eritrea after a two-week offensive, claiming it had achieved its military objectives.

But fighting raged on two other fronts, even as peace talks between the Horn of Africa's warring neighbours began in the Algerian capital.

Addis Ababa warned that the fighting would not stop for good until all of the territory "occupied" by Eritrea two years ago had been evacuated.

A spokeswoman for the Ethiopian government, Selome Taddesse, said the offensive had delivered a "humiliating and devastating defeat" to the Eritrean forces. "After successfully achieving their mission ... Ethiopian defence forces that had been controlling western Eritrea since 12 May have now withdrawn," she said.

The withdrawal came a day after Ethiopia launched bombing raids on Asmara, Eritrea's capital, for the first time since near the start of the war.

The pullout of Ethiopian troops did not immediately halt the exodus of refugees. With an estimated 130,000 Ethiopian troops now withdrawing from the areas around the regional western capital Barentu - seized more than two weeks ago - new troops movements may have set off panic among civilians.

Some 10,000 Eritreans have fled across the Sudan border since Monday. Many of those arriving said Ethiopian troops were in the border towns of Tesenay and Talatasha.

A presidential spokesman, Yemane Gebremskal, said the movement through Tesenay and Talatasha was "pillage" and done to "deliberately cause difficulty". He said that while there was no significant Eritrean military presence in the western areas, the Ethiopians were "under pressure" on the central front.

The UN High Commission for Refugees said it has had to provide emergency water, food and shelter for the new influx, bringing the total number of Eritrean refugees to almost 40,000.

Saba Isais, 30, who has been in the border town of Girmaika for seven days, said she fled Tesenay with her two-year-old son "because we knew there was war and you must get out before it gets you". Travelling with a group of six people she jumped on a government truck taking people further north.The empty tin can near her feet was canned meat given to her by Eritrean soldiers. She said she would remain inside Eritrea if possible but near the border. "I can run if I have to."

The population of Girmaika, a small remote border town, has almost doubled to 10,000with civilians from western villages. Arriving in searing heat where scrub bush is the only shelter, some are helped with food, pots and pans and - if they are lucky - a hut to share. But local administrators say they are becoming an increasing burden to local villagers.

Many of the thousands displaced by the Ethiopian military in western Eritrea spent decades as refugees in Sudan during the 30 years of the pre-1991 independence struggle. They say that they would only return to Sudan under extreme pressure.

In Bure, on the Assab front, diplomats, military attaches and foreign journalists were yesterday shown Eritrean troops pulling back in a voluntary withdrawal which was ordered from Asmara last Friday, said to be a gesture of goodwill towards peace talks.

Heavy artillery has been pulled back behind a new frontline at Debasima, where soldiers were seen constructing fortified trenches in the flat, rocky desert terrain.

Major General "China" Haile Samuel said the troops had redeployed reluctantly after instructions from the capital. "We have held this front for two years without any problem." He said there had been a lot of Ethiopian aerial movement yesterday as Ethiopian troops moved forward into Bure.