ERITREA denied on Tuesday claims by Addis Ababa that it launched attacks against Ethiopian positions. Eritrea also accused Ethiopia of preparing for a fresh offensive. “Ethiopia’s unfounded accusations…can only be interpreted as a thinly veiled intention on its part to launch fresh offensives,” the government said. Ethiopian government spokesperson Salome Tadesse said on Monday the Eritrean army launched two counter-offensives on the Mereb river and that both were beaten off. On Sunday, Ethiopia claimed that more than 45000 Eritrean soldiers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner on the two fronts of the border war since the end of February, but this was denied by Asmara on Monday.